Climbing bean

Origin & history

Climbing beans are the original growth form of the American common bean — the low bush types are later selections from them. In Mesoamerica they grew in the milpa alongside maize and squash, with the maize providing the pole. The red-flowered runner bean arrived in European gardens in the 17th century, at first as an ornamental. Incidentally, all beans twine in the same direction; wind a shoot the other way round the pole and it will unwind itself again.

Varieties

Two different species are sold as “climbing bean”: the classic common bean with white or violet flowers, and the sturdier runner bean with red flowers and thick seeds, which copes far better with cool, half-shaded spots. Look for “stringless” on the packet, otherwise every pod needs stringing, and check the final height — some varieties reach 2.5 m, others stay under two. If you want dried beans for winter, you need a variety explicitly grown for the seed.

Care

Guide the first shoots onto the pole by hand, after that they climb by themselves; when the tip reaches the top of the pole, cut it back so the plant keeps setting lower down. Water evenly from flowering on — drought or heat above 30 °C makes the flowers drop without setting a pod. No feeding; a mulch layer keeps the soil evenly moist and the shallow roots cool.

What can go wrong

The biggest risk is mechanical: a fully laden bean wigwam catches a summer storm like a sail, so drive the poles in deep enough and tie them firmly together at the top. On the self-pollinating common bean, flowers dropping without setting pods is almost always a water or heat question, not a pollination problem. Against a hot, sheltered house wall spider mites take hold — a more airy position and even soil moisture are the only reliable prevention.

Harvest, storage & kitchen

Climbing beans keep cropping for weeks as long as nothing ripens on the plant — so go through every two or three days without fail, even when nobody feels like eating beans. A pod is right when it snaps cleanly and the seeds are not yet bulging through. At the end of the season let the last pods dry to parchment: the seeds are then dried beans for the store cupboard and seed for next year — and beans are always cooked, never raw.

Frequently asked questions

When do you sow climbing beans?

From mid-May until roughly 20 June, sown directly into the bed, 3 cm deep and 15 cm apart in the row. Anything sown later will not finish properly before the frosts, because it takes a good nine weeks to the first picking.

How long do the poles for climbing beans need to be?

Reckon on about three metres in total: 40 to 50 cm goes into the ground, which leaves a good 2.5 m to climb. The poles should be rough-surfaced and no more than roughly 5 cm thick, or the shoots find no grip. Leave 70 cm between rows so every wigwam gets light.

Are climbing beans winter hardy or perennial?

Neither: climbing beans are frost-tender annuals. The first night frost ends the plant, so picking only runs to early October. Even the runner bean, naturally perennial, is grown as an annual in our climate and sown again each year.

Can climbing beans be frozen?

Yes, and it is the easiest way to store them: trim the pods, cut them into pieces, blanch for two to three minutes, plunge into iced water, drain well and freeze in portions. They stay green and firm for about a year. Thawed, they are cooked right through like fresh beans; frozen raw, they turn strawy and grey.