Dwarf French Bean Wax Valdor is a high quality dwarf wax bean variety. Produces round pods, 6-8mm in diameter and 12cm in length, with attractive golden yellow pods. Slow growing variety and late cropper. Good upright plant habit, 50cm in height.
Dwarf French Bean Tendergreen is a pencil podded, brown seeded type, dark green pods 15cm x 12mm, a standard dwarf bean variety suitable for fresh market use and for plant sales.
SOW: outdoors May - June
HARVEST: August - September
WHERE TO SOW:
French beans are sub-tropical in origin and therefore highly susceptible to frost damage. If a late frost does catch seedlings the only option is to remove them and re-sow.
Germination rates for all French beans are about 80% therefore sow seeds approximately every 15cm, in 5cm deep pre-watered drills. When the seedlings emerge, thin them out to about 1 every 30cm.
A good tip is to sow two seeds in the last position on each row, meaning you have additional seedlings to fill in any gaps.
A second tip, is don't pre-soak the beans as this encourages pest attack and reduces germination rates.
Dwarf French beans can manage with short bamboo poles or sticks to scramble up.
Keep well watered and weeded (both tasks can be reduced by surrounding the plants with an organic mulch).
