French Bean Purple Queen is a striking and exceptionally tasty bean variety with a unique appearance. This compact bush bean produces an abundance of tender, straight, almost stringless, glossy purple pods with a delicious, full bean flavour. The remarkable colour makes Purple Queen not only a valuable vegetable for the garden, but also an attractive feature among other crops. Harvest the beans regularly to encourage the plant to continue producing new pods. For the best flavour, the beans are best harvested when young, as they are then at their most tender and tasty. During cooking, the purple colour of the pods changes into a beautiful dark green. Purple Queen is very easy to grow and maintain, making it suitable for both beginner and experienced vegetable gardeners. The plant grows compactly and reaches a height of approximately 40 - 50 cm. As a bush bean, Purple Queen does not require climbing support. The plants grow healthily and provide a reliable harvest throughout the picking period.
In the kitchen, French Bean Purple Queen is highly versatile. The tender beans are delicious briefly boiled or steamed as a vegetable on their own, but are also excellent for soups, stews, stir-fries, Indonesian dishes such as sambal goreng beans, pasta sauces, and other Italian recipes. The beans also store well: they can be frozen or kept fresh for several days in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator. With its unique colour, delicious flavour, and easy cultivation, French Bean Purple Queen is an attractive and versatile choice for every vegetable garden. Non hardy annual. Height: 40 - 50 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.
