Cupidon - Dwarf French Bean

Phaseolus vulgaris 

Story: This is one of three dwarf bean varieties that we first grew as part of the 2024 Gaia Seed Foundation Great Bean trial and found that it produced compact, high yielding plants that grow stringless, straight pods that are delicious eaten young. 

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: Mid summer - early autumn when pods are fresh and green

When to harvest for seed: Late summer - early autumn when beans are fully mature and pods turn brown and papery

Need to isolate: No 

Seed Grown: Omved Gardens 

Saving Seed From dwarf 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. 

Number of plants to save seeds from: 5-10 minimum, 10 or more is ideal

Pollination: Self pollinated

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 1/3 cup of dried bean seed or more so that we can continue to share with network members. Send to: The Seed Saving Network, Omved Gardens, 1 Townsend Yard, N6 5JF.

Please remember, if you’re an individual grower you can order up to 4 packets of seeds. If you order more than this, you will receive just four packs to begin with. This is to ensure we get plenty of data in return and to keep our stocks sustainable for years to come.* 

*Community groups and Experienced Growers can order larger quantities, please email us at info@seedsaving.network if this is the case.

If an item is out of stock we will send a close alternative.