Last year I had a bumper crop of beans. I gave in to my family who were tired of the pretty minature purple variety “Velours” that I been growing for the past few years. I innocently puchased a packet of haricot à perche “Selma Fine” at a local garden centre and followed the sowing directions, getting them started indoors. When they were about 8cms tall, I transferred them into a raised bed filled with a double row of homemade bamboo trellising and waited. They can of course be sown directly into prepared ground in May once all signs of frost have passed. Beans are greed and enjoy a very fertile soil so prepare it well with lots of garden compost. I planted two plants at the base of each bamboo stick. We ate beans all summer long, raw from the plants and steamed in salads. We ate them fresh into early October and when we couldn’t eat any more I dried them out storing them for the winter. I am down to my last jar of dried beans and am getting ready to sow fresh seeds. It’s time to pick a variety and get ready to plant.
