French Bean Slenderette is a special organically grown bean variety that lives up to its name: a long, slender, fine bean with an excellent flavour. This variety is also known as Cantare and produces beautiful light to bright green, almost stringless and very fleshy pods with a fine texture and a full, pleasant bean taste. French Bean Slenderette is an early variety, suitable for an early harvest. The plants can be pre-grown under glass, allowing you to extend the harvesting season. The compact plants grow healthily and do not require support, but a sunny location ensures the best growth and yield. Thanks to its good disease resistance, Slenderette is a reliable choice for every vegetable gardener. The plant reaches a height of approximately 50 - 100 cm. Regular harvesting encourages the plant to continue producing new pods and extends the harvest period.
In the kitchen, French Bean Slenderette is highly versatile. The fine, tender beans are delicious briefly boiled or steamed as a classic vegetable, but are also excellent for salads, stir-fries, soups, stews, and Mediterranean dishes. Thanks to their fleshy texture, the beans retain a pleasant bite and full flavour even after cooking. Like all French beans, Slenderette can be stored very well in the freezer. Blanch the beans briefly first and cool them down immediately to preserve their flavour, colour, and texture as well as possible. With its early harvest, fine texture, excellent flavour, and easy cultivation, French Bean Slenderette is a valuable and versatile bean variety for the vegetable garden. Non hardy annual. Height: 50 - 100 cm.
Indoor sowing: from April
Outdoor sowing: from half May
Germination: 7 - 14 days
Germination temp.: 18 - 22 °C
Sowing depth: 3 - 4 cm
Planting distance: 20 - 30 cm
Distance between the rows: 40 cm
Plant position: sunny
Days till harvest: 55 - 65 days
For an early harvest, French Bean can be pre-sown indoors from April. Sow the seeds in individual pots at a depth of 3 - 4 cm and cover them well with moist seed compost. French beans are dark germinators and require sufficient soil coverage to germinate properly. Keep the seed compost evenly moist, but avoid making it too wet. Place the pots in a warm location and maintain a constant temperature of approximately 18 - 22 °C. Avoid strong temperature fluctuations, especially at night, as beans are sensitive to cold. When the young plants are strong enough and there is no longer any risk of night frost, they can be planted out in the open ground. This is usually from mid-May onwards. Maintain a planting distance of 20 - 30 cm and protect the young plants well against slugs and other pests.
From mid-May, French Bean can also be sown directly outdoors, once the risk of night frost has passed and the soil has warmed sufficiently. Choose a sunny location with well-drained soil. Beans do not like cold, wet soil, so it is better to wait until the soil is warm enough. Sow the seeds 3 - 4 cm deep and cover them well with a layer of fine seed compost. Keep a distance of 20 - 30 cm between plants and approximately 40 cm between rows. During growth, ensure the plants receive sufficient moisture, especially during warm and dry periods. Provide additional fertiliser once flowering begins to encourage good pod formation. Check the plants regularly for slugs and other pests. By harvesting the pods regularly, the plant will continue to produce new beans and the harvest period will be extended. Under good growing conditions, the first French beans can be harvested approximately 55 - 65 days after sowing.
