Dwarf Bean with net Molière

The Molière Climbing French Bean produces beautiful, 20 cm (8in) long, thin and straight pods, with kidney-shaped beans speckled with white. The pods are best eaten young, at the extra-fine stage. To do this, pick them every 2 to 3 days. This variety does not form threads and does not become parchment-like, so it can be harvested a little later at the fine stage.
This very tasty bean lends itself to all culinary variations. There are many ways to enjoy French beans, in Italian, Indian or Lebanese dishes that are best enjoyed fresh during summer harvests. Molière is also suitable for canning and freezing.
It is resistant to diseases and offers a good yield. It has beautiful chartreuse green foliage and mauve spring flowers to make the vegetable garden both attractive and nourishing. Harvest 60 days after sowing, from late June to September.

Beans are very easy to grow to be eaten as pods or beans. It is so reliable that the gardener knows the exact date when it will be ready for the first harvest, 60 days after sowing.

Discovered in the New World and acclimatised in Europe from the 16th century onwards, the bean has now become essential in all world cuisines. Native Americans cultivated it for its dried beans, but it was the Italians who first ate whole, immature pods in the 18th century.
French beans are climbers 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, streaked with red or even purple. Among the varieties that are eaten at the fine or extra-fine stage are the string beans which develop threads when ripe. Then the pod becomes parchment-like and loses its taste.
French beans are generally fleshy and can be eaten whole, both the beans and the pods, even when fully ripe. The more recently created string snap beans can be eaten when young in the extra-fine stage or when more fleshy as they do not form strings.

Among shelling beans (i.e. those whose seeds are consumed), a distinction is made between the harvest of fresh beans and that of dry beans, which takes place 90 days after sowing.

Immature green pods are rich in vitamins A, B9 and C, trace elements and minerals. Dry beans are also very rich in vitamin C, trace elements and vegetable proteins.

Harvesting: harvest fresh beans or young pods 60 days after sowing. For fresh beans, harvest before the pods start to dry and wrinkle. The beans should barely have any colour. For pod consumption, the harvest should take place every 2 or 3 days, both at the fine and extra-fine stages. The harvest of dry beans is done by cutting the whole plant, which is then suspended in a dry and airy place. They can be shelled as needed.

Preservation: freezing pods is now the most common method of preservation. To do this, remove the stems, wash and blanch the beans for 5 to 6 minutes in boiling water, then plunge them into cold water and dry them with a clean cloth. The beans can be kept in the freezer at -18°C (-0.4°F). However, canning is regaining its popularity among an increasing number of consumers due to the taste qualities inherent in this method of preservation. Like freezing, remove the stems, wash and blanch the beans and then immerse them in cold water. Put them in jars and fill them with boiling salted water. Close the jars and sterilise them in a pressure cooker or with a steriliser for 1 hour and 30 minutes over medium heat. To do this, completely cover the jars with water after sealing them well.

Gardener's tip: beans, like all members of the Fabaceae family, can fix nitrogen from the air in the soil through a plant-bacteria symbiosis. They can regenerate soils. Beans can be grown as part of a crop rotation after green manure.

Beans are not very demanding in terms of nutrients. Traditionally in Central and South America, beans are grown with squash and corn, forming a trio with positive companionship. This association is called three sisters. Beans also associate well with aubergines, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, and radishes as they protect each other. However, avoid planting them near alliums or fennel as their growth is inhibited.

A spray of nettle fertiliser can control aphid attacks and strengthen the plants.