Climbing French Bean Sunshine

Sunshine shines with vibrant yellow-gold pencil pods that are sweet, mild in flavour, and beautifully stringless. These smooth, straight pods hang in neat clusters and stand out clearly against lush green foliage, making harvesting easy and satisfying. Reliable, heavy cropping and a long picking period make it a real favourite for gardeners—and it's no wonder it proudly holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit.

SOW

Start these off in pots or modules (seed depth 4-5cm - 2^nd knuckle) and place in an unheated greenhouse or on a window during April or May. You can sow directly into the soil from mid-May. Can be sown as late as July for a later harvest.

GROW

Plant out after hardening off when about 15cm tall after all frost danger has passed. They need a cane each, set about 15cm apart in a row, or arranged in a teepee. French Beans are self-pollinating, they cope well with drier summers when they will appreciate watering twice a week.

EAT

Pick young, top and tail, and cook whole or sliced or leave the pods at the end of the season for drying to store the white seeds for winter casseroles. And lots of beans allow you to freeze some: prepare as above, blanche and bag in meal sized amount that you can cook from frozen.