Phaseolus vulgaris 'Blue Lake'

The 'Blue Lake' Climbing Green Bean is a proven variety. Productive and early, each plant produces long, fleshy green beans measuring 14cm (6in), hanging in clusters of 4 to 5 pods, without any threads. These pods are of excellent taste quality, suitable for freezing, and for all culinary variations. There are indeed numerous ways to enjoy green beans. Consider, for example, Italian, Indian, or Lebanese preparations, which are best enjoyed fresh. These recipes are ideal during summer harvests. Sow from May to August for a harvest from July to September.

By arranging bamboo stalks in a teepee or Canadian tent shape, you can add aesthetics to your vegetable garden: you will obtain beautiful climbing frames forming a green wall. Place several seeds in a small hole at the base of each support. Each plant produces a multitude of white flowers in spring, giving way to generous fruiting from July onwards. Climbing beans have a high yield and the harvest extends over a longer period than dwarf varieties.

Whether consumed for its pod or its seed, the bean is a highly appreciated vegetable in gardens because it is very easy to cultivate. It is so punctual that the gardener knows the exact date of its first harvest, which is 60 days after sowing.

Discovered in the New World and acclimatized in Europe from the 16th century onwards, the bean has now become an essential legume in diets all over the world. The Native Americans cultivated it for its dried seeds, but it was the Italians who, in the 18th century, introduced the consumption of the whole pod by picking it immature.
The bean is a vine plant with indeterminate growth. Primitive varieties are all climbing and require support. Later, for practical reasons, dwarf varieties were selected, but they all have tendrils that can wrap around a support.
The pods are generally green, sometimes yellow (butter beans), striated with red or even amethyst. Among the varieties that are eaten when thin or extra thin, there are the string beans that have threads when ripe. Then the pod becomes parchment-like and loses its taste quality.
The mangetout bean is generally fleshier and can be consumed entirely, seeds and pods, even when ripe. The more recently created stringless mangetout beans can be consumed when young as extra thin and until a more fleshy stage, like a mangetout, as they do not form any threads.

Among the shelling bean varieties (where only the seeds are consumed), we distinguish between harvesting fresh beans and dry beans, which is 90 days after sowing.

Immature green pods are known for their richness in vitamins A, B9, and C, as well as trace elements and minerals. Dry beans also contain vitamin C, trace elements, and especially vegetable proteins.

Harvesting: the harvest of fresh beans or young pods begins 60 days after sowing. For fresh beans, it must be done before the pods start to dehydrate and become wrinkled. The beans should barely start to take on their colour. For pod consumption, harvest every 2 or 3 days, both when thin and extra thin for string beans. The harvest of dry beans is done by cutting the entire plant, which is then hung in a dry and well-ventilated place. They can be shelled as needed.

Storage: freezing pods is the most common method of preservation today. For this, you will need to trim, wash, blanch for 5 to 6 minutes in boiling water, then plunge into cold water before drying with a clean towel. Once packed in bags, the beans can be placed in the freezer at -18 °C. However, canning is regaining its popularity among a growing number of consumers due to the taste qualities associated with this preservation method. Like freezing, trim, wash, blanch, then immerse the beans in cold water. Place them in jars, then fill them with boiling salted water. Seal the jars and sterilize them in a pressure cooker or with a sterilizer for 1 hour and 30 minutes over medium heat. To do this, completely cover the jars with water after securing them properly.

Dry beans: when completely dry, bean seeds can be preserved for up to a year if stored in good conditions, such as in airtight jars.

Gardener's tip: beans, like all members of the Fabaceae family, have the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen in the soil through a plant-bacteria symbiosis. They can therefore regenerate soils. Beans can be included in crop rotations after burying green manure. Beans are low-nutrient-demanding plants. Traditionally, bean cultivation in Central and South America is associated with squash and corn, forming a beneficial triad. This association is locally called Milpa. Beans also associate well with eggplants, carrots, cabbages, potatoes, and radishes, as they provide mutual protection. Avoid the presence of alliums or fennel, as their growth inhibits each other.

Spraying with nettle manure helps to control aphid attacks and strengthen the plants that have benefited from it.