Dwarf Bean Nautica extra fine string seeds

The Dwarf Bean 'Nautica' is an excellent variety often consumed at the extra fine stage of growth. It produces light green pods, 13 to 14cm (5 to 6in) long, very thin and straight, containing black seeds. This bean with an excellent taste shows good resistance to diseases. It can be sown from April to August and harvested from June to October.

Whether consumed for its pod or its seed, the bean is a vegetable highly appreciated in gardens, as it is very easy to grow. 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 acclimatised in Europe from the 16th century onwards, the bean has now become an essential legume in diets all over the world. Native Americans cultivated it for its dried seeds, but it was the Italians who, in the 18th century, introduced the consumption of the whole immature pod.
The bean is a climber with indeterminate growth. The primitive varieties are all climbers and require staking. Later, for practical reasons, dwarf varieties were selected, but all of them have tendrils that can wrap around a support. The pods are usually green, sometimes yellow, striped with red or even amethyst. Among the varieties that will be eaten at the fine or extra fine stage, there are the string beans that develop strings when ripe. Then the pod becomes parchment-like and loses its taste quality.

The snap bean is generally fleshy and can be consumed entirely, both the seeds and the pods, even when ripe. Recently created filet - snap beans can be consumed when young and extra fine, or at a more fleshy stage like a snap bean, as they do not form strings.

Among the shell beans (i.e., beans whose seeds are consumed), we can distinguish between the harvest of fresh seeds and the harvest of dry seeds, which is 90 days after sowing.

The immature green pods are rich in vitamins A, B9, and C, as well as trace elements and minerals. The dry beans are also very rich in vitamin C, trace elements, and especially vegetable proteins.

The harvest: the harvest of fresh seeds or young pods begins 60 days after sowing. For fresh seeds, it must be done before the pods start to dehydrate and develop wrinkles. The seeds should barely start to take on their colour. For the consumption of pods, harvest every 2 or 3 days, both at the fine and extra fine stage for filet beans. The harvest of dry seeds is done by completely cutting the plant, which is then hung in a dry and well-ventilated place. They can be shelled as needed.

Storage: freezing the pods is currently the most common method of preservation. To do this, remove the ends, wash, blanch for 5 to 6 minutes in boiling water, then plunge into cold water and dry with a clean cloth. Once placed in a bag, 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 inherent in this method of preservation. As with freezing, remove the ends, wash, blanch, then plunge the beans into cold water. Place them in jars and fill them with salted boiling water. Close the jars and sterilise in a pressure cooker or steriliser for 1 hour and 30 minutes over medium heat, completely covering the jars with water after securing them well.

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

Gardening tip: beans, like all members of the Fabaceae family, have the ability to fix nitrogen from the air into the soil through a plant-bacteria symbiosis. Therefore, they can regenerate the soil. Beans can be included in crop rotation after burying green manure.
Beans are plants with low nutrient requirements. Traditionally, bean cultivation in Central and South America is associated with the cultivation of squash and corn, forming a triad with positive interrelationships. This association is locally called Milpa. Beans also associate well with eggplants, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, and radishes, as they protect each other. Avoid the presence of alliums or fennel, as their growth is inhibited.

Spraying with nettle extract allows for effective control of aphid attacks and strengthens the plants that have benefited from it.