Haricot vert is French for green bean. Also called filet beans. This gourmet type can command a premium in high-end markets, but are also reliable and suited to the fancy home gardener. Seeds are smaller than those regular bush beans, and the slender tender pods take less time to cook.
For optimal flavor and texture, pick often and when pods are thinner than a pencil. Picking interval should be 48 hours or less. Be sure soil temps have reached optimal range (60–80°) before seeding.
Culture: Tender, will not survive frost. Inoculate with a legume inoculant, then plant seeds 3–4" apart in rows 24–30" apart after all danger of frost has passed and soil has warmed. Minimum germination soil temperature 60°; optimal range 70–80°. White-seeded beans are generally more sensitive to cold soil temps than dark-seeded varieties. Legumes have moderate fertility needs and can fix their own nitrogen. Excessive nitrogen may induce some bush varieties to develop vines in moist hot weather.
Saving Seed: Saving bean seed is easy! Leave pods on the plants to dry. Hand shell, or stomp pods on a tarp. To ensure true-to-type seed, separate varieties by 30 feet.
Diseases:
White mold, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, affects more than 300 plant species. In beans, low humidity, good air circulation and wider spacing, both between plants and between rows, reduce the likelihood of this soil-borne infection.
For the latest results of our germination tests, please see the germination page.