[Daisygirl]

what climbing french beans please my dears
summer

[Yorkie]

Green, yellow or purple? 

[SusieB]

Cobra for the green (tasty and productive).  Not got a favourite yellow and purple, will be looking at what others suggest.

[surbie100]

I tried violet podded beans from DT Brown this year - loadsa tasty stringless beans. They go green on cooking, but taste great raw. They got to about 8ft high.

[Yorkie]

Cobra or Blue Lake for green ones.

Purple Queen or P Teepee for dwarf purple ones.  Can't remember the climbing ones but they all seem to do well.

Goldfield is an unusual flat-podded (stringless) yellow one, which I thought tasted quite buttery.

[Flowertot]

I am definitely growing Climbing Blue Lake again next year - this years were delicious, stringless and cropped from July to October    I am going to try the dwarf Purple Teepee next year too.

[mumofstig]

Trionfo Violetto is a good strong purple variety, if your site is cold & windy 

[gavinjconway]

This season I planted about 10 varieties and then when picking I mixed them all up before eating or freezing. The mixing them all up has made a wonderful taste as they all are different and each add flavour. I'm going to do the same this year. I picked 30 odd Kg's and frozen loads.

[AnneB]

They are not so readily available, but my favourites are Cherokee Trail of Tears, green sometimes mottled purple, and for purple I grew Blue Coco from the Heritage Seed Library for the first time this year and it was a fantastic cropper.

[surbie100]

They are not so readily available, but my favourites are Cherokee Trail of Tears.

Just for info, RealSeeds have these in stock regularly.
http://www.realseeds.co.uk/beans.html

[fatbelly]

Deffo Cobra for taste & productivity.

They grow quite tall like Runners so are easy to pick. They crop over quite a long period and took my last pick in October this year.

I have tried a number of French Green Beans over the years and Cobra always turn out best. The only negative is seed germination, I never get better than 75% germination.

But overall Deffo Cobra, they also won a RHS Award of Garden Merit.

[mumofstig]

Funny, isn't it - I can't grow Cobra here, tried it a few years running with no success. I think the allotment site is too windy for them 

[carlrmj]

 
   I grew cobra last year and had a fantastic crop from them .This year I tried blue lake and although a good crop

  I didn't think there was as many or as good as cobra ,which I will grow again next year .

[AnneB]

They are not so readily available, but my favourites are Cherokee Trail of Tears.

Just for info, RealSeeds have these in stock regularly.
http://www.realseeds.co.uk/beans.html

Yes, that's where I got mine from.  However, I think they are the only supplier in the UK apart from the Heritage Seed Library or someone you know who has saved seed.   I didn't want people to think they would be able to pick them up at their garden centre or Wilkinsons.

[surbie100]

Yep, me too. Just thought the link might be handy.