Climbing Bean Borlotto di Vigevano

Phaseolus vulgaris - Borlotto di Vigevano

An annual plant originally from tropical regions of America. It has a climbing stem that can reach a height of 1.5 - 2 metres. The fruit is a pod containing various amounts of kidney-shaped seeds. They differ in colour and size depending on the variety. Bean seeds are poisonous. They contain a substance called phaseolin. This is lost during cooking. Therefore, we do not consume uncooked seeds. The flowers are white, pink, yellow or purple in colour and form sparse clusters. It blooms from June to August.

Beans contain a source of amino acids and ascorbic acid.

How to Grow Beans

• This is a heat-loving plant, so we plant it in a sunny location that is protected from wind. During flowering, beans need temperatures ranging between 20-25 degrees Celsius. Beans are demanding when it comes to watering, the soil must not dry out, but at the same time it must not be waterlogged! All types of beans need support. Ornamental types will look great on pergolas, fences or in containers with climbing structures. We plant edible varieties near stakes, or create a place for tying them with string. We loosen the soil around the plant and keep it weed-free. Regular harvesting of pods encourages the formation of additional fruit.

• We sow seeds in March. We plant the seeds in permeable nutritious substrate and place them in a bright location. Beans require warmth for germination, so a greenhouse or hotbed is suitable. We sow beans at their final location after 15th May, when there is no risk of frost.

  We sow bush varieties with 3-4 seeds in prepared holes about 5 cm deep. Spaced about 20 cm apart.

  We sow climbing varieties with about 5 seeds in holes 5 cm deep and up to a metre apart depending on the type of support.

• Light sandy-loam soils with sufficient soil microorganisms and nutrients are suitable. Ideal pH around 6.5.

• We use NPK fertilisers with a low nitrogen ratio. In spring, it is recommended to add 3 kg of nitrogen per m2, 3-4 kg P2O5/m2 and 11 kg K2O/m2 as a one-off application to the bean site. If beans are grown in nutritious soil, we may not need to apply fertilisers at all.

• The most serious disease of beans is anthracnose. Browning, enlarging spots appear on young pods, the mycelium penetrates inside the pod and attacks the seeds, forming yellow-brown to red-brown spots on them. We treat with chemical preparations - fungicides and by destroying post-harvest residues.

  Beans are also attacked by other fungal or bacterial infections, such as grey mould, brown leaf spot, bacterial blight, bean rust and others.

  The seedcorn maggot is a fly whose larvae attack germinating cotyledons and the growing tip of the plant whilst still in the soil, especially in cooler, wet weather. Suitable protection is seed treatment with insecticides.

  A small, dark beetle - the bean weevil attacks seeds in which it overwinters. This leads to deterioration of the harvest. Suitable protection is to store shelled seeds in the freezer (at a temperature of -10 °C the beetles die within 10-14 days, at a frost of -17 °C within 8 hours).

• We harvest for grain when the pods are drying and the seeds are firm, well-ripened and fully coloured.

  For culinary use, we harvest immature pods which, when bent slightly, will snap.