Borlotti - Bean

Phaseolus vulgaris

A delightful cream coloured bean with red markings, the borlotti is a late summer favourite. This variety has produced exceptionally well for us over the years. It is a great climber, reaching up to 2m in height so be sure to provide adequate supports.

We have a very limited amount of this seed so please only select it if you feel you can attempt to save seed and send it back to the SSN. You can also become a gaurdian by emailing info@seedsaving.network

When to sow: April - May indoor, May – June direct

Requirements: Nutrient-rich soil, regular watering, and a lot of sun.

When to harvest for food: July-Sep

When to harvest seed: July - Oct. When beans are fully mature and pods turn brown. In southern England, typically July/later summer.

Need to isolate: No 

Seed Grown: Omved Gardens and with thanks to our Seed Guardians K. Cronk and another anonymous grower. 

Seed harvested: 2023

Saving Seed From Borlotti (French beans). Isolation: French beans are self pollinating and rarely cross pollinate though it is good practice to allow 3m between different varieties. Processing Seed: Allow beans to fully ripen on the plant, when they begin to turn brown and papery, pick whole pods and bring them inside to dry fully. Once completely dry, shell the beans from their papery pods. 

How to send seed back: Please label all seed with variety, type, date and your contact, if you didn't get a chance to fill out our online data collection form, you can also send us a few lines about how it grew for you/flavour etc. Please aim to send back around 1/3 cup of dried seed or more so that we can continue to share with network members. Send to: Omved Gardens, 1 Townsend Yard, N6 5JF.