Beans and Herbs

Unusual and Heritage Varieties of Beans

CLIMBING FRENCH BEANS (Pole Beans)	Order form The varieties here are for Bean Club members. You can become a member simply by ordering any of these seeds. Thereafter we will send you an annual members' newsletter every winter to keep you up to date with the varieties available for you to grow. We will also tell you about any new ones we will be trialling. We prefer to send this by email so please put your email address on the order form.

Our Main Catalogue contains only Organic Seed. This extra list shows beans that we are unable to obtain as organically grown. These have been grown without the use of artificial fertilisers or pesticides, but have not been certified as organic seed. Please contact us if you wish to find out about the production of a particular variety. Please request seed below at the same time as any requirements from the Main Catalogue using the same Order Form. Some of the varieties on offer below are available in limited quantities so PLEASE GIVE US ALTERNATIVES YOU WOULD BE HAPPY WITH. There are growing intructions on each packet. IF WE HAVE SOLD OUT, WE WILL SEND YOU THE NEAREST TO YOUR CHOICES, OR SEND YOU A CREDIT NOTE. Please order only one pack of any number of varieties and do save some of your own seed for the following year! See our webpages on growing beans and peas at www.beansandherbs.co.uk/beanpeacultivate and on saving your own seeds at www.beansandherbs.co.uk/beans You may notice that we now grow mainly climbing beans rather than dwarf varieties. So many people have small gardens which have limited space so we advise growing a climber to get more beans for the space taken up. It takes a bit longer to get to the harvest stage, but the reward is greater!
NOTE Our harvest is ready in November each year. The list below will change every November from one year to the next depending on what varieties we decide to grow out. We have to offer these on a first-come-first-served basis as we have limited stock. If you put our website into your Favourites and check the list as it changes in the autumn, you can best ensure you obtain the beans seeds you want.
BRIDGEWATER	Extremely prolific horticultural (shelling out) bean . Eat fresh shelled or dry the large bean seeds for later use. Attractive maroon mottling.
ORO	Superb bean for all-round performance. Large mid green pods slightly curved. Delicious with delicate flavour eaten as a green bean, or large pink-tan seeds for shelling out fresh and cooking, or for leaving on the vine to dry the seeds for winter use.
ITALIAN SNAP	Large black and white stripey seed. Mottled pod. Good crop of beans for pod or shelling.
MAJOR COOK	Excellent cropper with attractive mottled pods. Stringless beans. Fine flavour. Also great to eat shelled out or leave for drying.
LAZY HOUSEWIFE	Large flat slightly curved green pods. Good harvest for fresh pods. Does well in hot dry conditions. Dry seeds large, pale brown and very delicious in winter casseroles.
DINAH'S CLIMBING BLUE	Dark purple pods and lots of them.
CASEKNIFE	Flat green pods. Prolific cropper. One of our favourite beans.
COCO BICOLOUR	Delightful two-coloured seeds - white and grey-pink-speckled. Good for pods or drying.
SCHONE VON RICHIGEN	Bean with superb flavour. Quite late maturing but worth waiting for.
BRIENZER	Pinkish mottled pods. Lovely bean. Lots of pods.
JULY	Delicate flavour. Long pencil shaped pods.
MEUCH	Mottled pods. Medium length. Very delicious bean.
NORTHEASTER	Early maturing with a deliciously rich sweet flavour. Flat green wide pods 20cm long . Stringless. Stays tender for long periods. White seeded variety.
MANTRA	Large flat green pods. Not finest flavour but really excellent cropper for using a lot of beans for chutney or soups, or green beans cut into casseroles, veg pies, etc.
TUNNY BEAN	Mother-Earth kind of bean for shelling out like peas. Bi-colour seeds, half white half pink.
RATTLESNAKE	Slim bean with stunning markings. Pick when young and tender.
CELINA'S FLAT WIDE	Long flat pods and lots of them. Very tender and succulent. Average vigour.
PURPLE PRIZE	Really good purple type. Long attractive beans of good flavour.
COSSE VIOLETTE	Strong growing purple type with pencil pods that can be harvested over many weeks. Good flavour. Pods 26cm in length.
YARD LONG OR ASPARAGUS BEAN	Very vigorous. Best for polytunnels. Long thin beans like green spaghetti. Very tasty and stringless. Mid to late season. Pick at 30cm for best flavour and texture.
DISTRICT NURSE	A plump drying bean with mottled seeds. Good fat pods and a pleasure to shell out.
GOLDFIELD	Much sought-after bean. Lots of people talk about it and have not been able to find a supplier. Now we have it! High quality gold bean with tender stringless flat yellow pods, 27cm in length. Long harvest period.
FASOLD	Black seeded variety. Quick to form beanpods. Pods are long, round and stringless. Superb flavour. Long harvest.
PEA BEAN	Shell out and eat as ‘peas’ or leave to dry for winter casseroles or soup. Half white, half maroon seeds.
HYACINTH OR LABLAB BEAN	Very decorative bean. Start under glass end April/beginning May and plant out as soon as no danger of frost. Can grow up to 2m. Pods flat, blunt and slightly curved, about 10cm long. Young pods are cooked and eaten whole, or left for shelling out fresh, or dry.
DWARF FRENCH BEANS (Bush Beans)	Growing instructions on each packet
DALMATIN	Drying bean. Beautiful black and white seeds which look great in casseroles.
SABO	Excellent cropper with superb flavour. Really good reliable bean.
BLACK CANTERBURY	Lots of quite large black seeds. Good for fresh eating pods when quite young or for drying.
PURPLE TEPEE	This variety of Dwarf French Bean is an intermediate type - it produces its purple pods at the top of each plant, above the foliage. Pods keep clean as they are well above soil level. Suitable for later plantings. Superb flavour.
RUNNER BEANS	Growing instructions on each packet
PAINTED LADY	Old variety with top quality beans. Attractive red and white flowers.
CZAR	Fine old white-flowered variety. Long tender beans over a long period. Seeds can be left to swell as 'butter beans', or dried for winter.
WHITE LADY	White flowered variety with excellent flavour. Slender, smooth, fleshy, stringless pods . 30cm long pods. Good pod set even in hot weather.
LADY DI	Outstanding quality bean. Excellent texture and taste. Stringless type.
MINNOW	A white flowered variety for delicious tender smaller pods. Slender smooth and stringless. Excellent sweet flavour. Best picked at 15-18cm long.
MOONLIGHT	Good quality white flowered variety. Good flavour and texture. Pods 30cm long.
HESTIA	A dwarf variety suitable for open planting or in containers. Attractive red and white flowers . Slim stringless 20cm runner beans. Early cropping.
PEAS	Growing instructions on each packet
ASPARAGUS PEA	A mangetout pea with very attractive winged pods. Pick young and tender pods for eating whole.
SOYA BEAN	Growing instructions on each packet
SOYA BEAN Elena	Robust and reliable soya bean for growing in UK. Erect habit. Early maturity for edamame (whole pods). Can be grown in large pots under glass, or in a sunny sheltered position outside.

NOTE If there is a bean variety you are looking for, please feel free to ask us as we have a large number of varieties in our collection and will try to help. Bean Recipes!