Maggie’s Borlotti Climbing French Bean

£3.20

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Sorry, now out of stock for this year! More coming autumn 2026.

This Welsh adapted variety is sweet and tender when young and a delight to snack on in the garden. It is great raw in salads and when the beans are larger they are lovely steamed or stir fried. When the beans start to form they are lovely cooked like a haricot vert and the beans also dry well for use as winter pulses which have a nutty flavour. A great all-rounder.

These are vigorous plants which need strong supports as they will grow up to 3m tall.

I was given these seeds over 25 years ago after I was chatting to another gardener at an apple pressing day. We were discussing the best ever climbing French bean and we both said that we grew the best. She sent me some seeds through the post and I grew them the next year and do you know – she was right! These are fantastic beans and I have been selecting the best of them to save seeds from every year for the last 25 yrs, slowly adapting them to the Welsh climate.

Approx. 60 seeds.

Botanical name: Phaseolus vulgaris

Grown by: Maggie Carr

Climbing French beans
Because drying beans take longer to fully mature on the plant, they’re best started off early, indoors in April. Sow them in deep modules or small pots with some seed compost and if there are mice around, cover them up before they germinate, as rodents love the seeds. Harden off the young seedlings, then plant them out about 6-8” apart once all risk of frost has passed and the soil is warming up. Can be sown direct in warmer soil in May. Dig in plenty of organic matter initially and water regularly throughout the season. The beans will need a structure with canes or string to wind themselves around as they climb. Most will find their own way up, but if any get a bit ‘lost’ you can simply wind them up yourself to begin with. Make sure you wind them anticlockwise though, otherwise they’ll just unwind themselves!