Fothergill's RHS Dwarf French Bean Elba Vegetable Seeds

Details:

• Botanical Name: Phaseolus vulgaris 'Elba', a premium, highly uniform dwarf French bean cultivar within the legume family.
• Plant Class: Half Hardy Annual, establishing with exceptional speed and structural stamina to deliver a rapid, heavy crop from summer right through into autumn.
• Gourmet Stringless Pods: Bears a prolific abundance of beautifully straight, slender green pods that grow to a highly uniform length of 15cm (6in). The flesh is exceptionally tender, crisp, and packed with a rich, sweet, traditional French bean flavor.
• Improved Pest & Disease Resistance: Bred with advanced modern genetics to feature a highly robust natural defence system against common bean pests and viruses (including Bean Common Mosaic Virus). This added stamina ensures the foliage stays healthy and highly productive all season long.
• Compact Dwarf Framework: Naturally forms a neat, sturdy, and self-supporting bush mound. Because it requires absolutely no complex climbing poles, towering netting, or bamboo structures, it is an ideal choice for smaller gardens, allotment foregrounds, raised beds, or large patio tubs.
• Incredible Growing Versatility: Remarkably versatile and resilient; while it performs at its absolute peak in full sun, it possesses the rare ability to grow and crop successfully across a wide variety of garden settings, including partial, full, or dappled shade.
• Nutritional Rewards: A fantastic, health-boosting addition to your homegrown dinner plate, serving as an excellent natural source of dietary fibre, Vitamin A, and Vitamin C.

Care Instructions:

• Sowing Position: Start seeds early indoors from April to May for the surest, most foolproof results. Sow individual seeds 2.5cm deep into small pots or deep module trays of moist compost and place them on a warm, bright windowsill (15–20°C is ideal for fast germination). Alternatively, sow directly outdoors from May to July once the soil has warmed and all danger of frost has safely passed.
• Planting Out & Spacing: Gradually accustom indoor-raised plants to outdoor conditions over 7–10 days before planting out into their final positions when the spring frosts are completely over. Space individual plants 20–30cm apart, allowing 45cm between rows. Growing them in close blocks allows the dense bushes to lean on and support one another.
• Moisture & Soil Preference: Elba performs at its absolute best in fertile, well-drained, and moisture-retentive soil. Keep the soil or container compost consistently moist but never waterlogged. Beans require plenty of regular watering once they begin to flower and form pods to prevent the crop from dropping.
• Harvesting Tip: Harvest the pods frequently when they are young, slender, and snap easily in half. Regular, heavy picking is vital, as it prevents the plant from shutting down to set seed, forcing the bush to continuously produce fresh flowers and an ongoing supply of sweet green beans until the autumn.