From early broad beans to climbing crops and mature beans for winter storage, this is a varied group united by pods, seed harvests and distinctive ways of using vertical space.
Each crop has its own sowing, spacing and harvest guide. Start with the crop you want to eat or store, then choose a variety whose habit suits the available space.
Mature stored beans
Beans for drying
Leave pods and seeds to reach full maturity, then dry the shelled beans thoroughly for winter storage.
Productive upright plants that can provide one of the earliest bean harvests of the growing year.
Habit
Dwarf to tall upright
Guide in preparation
Fresh pods or mature beans
French beans
Climbing and dwarf forms grown for young pods, with suitable varieties also matured for drying.
Habit
Climbing or dwarf
Guide in preparation
Pods, peas or shoots
Peas
Pod-producing legumes with crop- and variety-specific support, spacing and harvest requirements.
Habit
Variety dependent
Guide in preparation
Fresh pods or mature beans
Runner beans
Vigorous climbers commonly picked as fresh pods, with suitable varieties also left to mature.
Habit
Usually climbing
Guide in preparation
Edible beans
Soya beans
Warmth-dependent edible beans whose complete UK requirements belong in their individual crop guide.
Habit
Guide in preparation
Guide in preparation
Fresh, shelled or stored
Choosing what to grow
Begin with the harvest
Beans for drying occupy the ground for longer because the seed must reach full maturity. Broad beans are harvested earlier and can extend the season through suitable autumn, late-winter and spring sowings.
Then choose the habit
Climbing plants make productive use of height but need a secure structure. Dwarf and compact varieties need less height and can be useful for containers, smaller plots or exposed positions.
Group advice helps with orientation. The individual crop and variety guide remains authoritative for sowing, spacing and care.
Rows, stations and supports
Planning the space
This group demonstrates why one universal “bean spacing” would be misleading. Broad beans, dwarf beans and climbing beans use materially different layouts.
01
Rows and paired rows
Broad beans can use single or paired rows, while dwarf drying beans need enough airflow and clearance to keep low pods away from damp ground.
02
Climbing structures
Install A-frames, X-frames, wigwams or trellis before planting so young roots are not disturbed later.
03
Containers and exposure
Compact varieties may suit limited space. Container suitability belongs to the selected crop or variety rather than the whole group.
A long and varied season
When to sow and plant
Oct–Nov
Hardy broad beans
Suitable varieties may be sown in mild, sheltered and freely drained conditions for an early crop.
Feb–May
Main broad-bean sowings
Protected starts and successive outdoor sowings extend the potential harvest into summer.
Apr–Jun
Frost-tender drying beans
Start indoors for a longer season or wait until frost has passed and outdoor soil is genuinely warm.
Jul–Autumn
Harvest changes
Pick fresh crops at their best or leave drying beans until pods become dry, shrivelled and brittle.
Steady growth and strong structures
Care through the season
Watering
Pay particular attention around flowering and pod development. Containers and vigorous climbers may need more frequent attention than established plants in open ground.
Mulching and weeds
Organic mulch can conserve moisture and reduce weed competition. Keep it clear of young stems while plants establish.
Supporting and training
Check structures after strong weather, guide climbing stems back into place and support taller broad-bean rows before they lodge.
Watch young growth
Slugs, snails and black aphids can damage vulnerable growth. Crop-specific problem guidance explains the appropriate response.
Pods, shelling and seed
Harvest, use and storage
Fresh pods
Harvest young and tender according to crop and variety.
Fresh shelled beans
Allow pods to fill, then harvest before the seed becomes hard and dry.
Beans for storage
Pick dry, brittle pods and finish drying shelled beans until they are completely hard before storing.
Six distinctive cultivars
Varieties to discover
These examples come from the two reviewed member guides. Each variety remains attached to one parent crop.
Beans for drying
‘Borlotto Lingua di Fuoco’
An Italian borlotti bean offered in climbing and dwarf forms, with red-marbled pods and mottled mature beans.
Guide in preparation
Beans for drying
‘Czar’
A climbing dual-purpose bean whose pods can be picked young or left to mature for drying and storage.
Guide in preparation
Beans for drying
‘Yin Yang’
A compact dwarf variety producing distinctive mature beans patterned half black and half white.
