Cassoulet Beans

$5.99

Cassoulet drying bean seeds are grown for use in the French dish, cassoulet. Unusually thin skins cover delicate, low-starch beans with subtle, mild flavour. The compact, bushy plants are extremely productive, setting masses of pods, and flowering right through summer if kept picked. Expect huge yields of beans for drying and using in winter stews. Because of the beans’ mild flavour and lack of starch, they act like sponges, absorbing flavours of other ingredients and adding body to soups and stews without becoming stodgy. The beans are open pollinated, so they’re good for seed saving, and very easy to harvest from your organic vegetable garden.

Matures in 90 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)

Approximately 100 Seeds

 

In stock

Description

Cassoulet drying bean seeds are grown for use in the French dish, cassoulet. Unusually thin skins cover delicate, low-starch beans with subtle, mild flavour. The compact, bushy plants are extremely productive, setting masses of pods, and flowering right through summer if kept picked. Expect huge yields of beans for drying and using in winter stews. Because of the beans’ mild flavour and lack of starch, they act like sponges, absorbing flavours of other ingredients and adding body to soups and stews without becoming stodgy. The beans are open pollinated, so they’re good for seed saving, and very easy to harvest from your organic vegetable garden.

Matures in 90 days. (Open-pollinated seeds)

Approximately 100 Seeds

Difficulty
Easy

Season & Zone
Season: Warm season.
Exposure: Full-sun.

Timing

Sow as early as possible for dry beans, in late spring, once the soil warms up a bit so plants can mature before wet weather sets in. Optimal soil temperature: 21-32°C (70-90°F).

Starting

Sow seeds 2-5cm (1-2″) deep, 5-8cm (2-3″) apart, in rows 45-60cm (18-24″) apart. Thin to at least 15cm (6″) apart in each row. If the weather is too wet, beans can also be started in pots indoors and set out carefully a few weeks later. Seeds will sprout in 8-16 days, depending on conditions.

Growing

Ideal pH: 6.0-6.5. Well drained, warm soil in full sun is best. Raised beds help with both drainage and warmth. Use 1 cup of complete organic fertilizer for every 3m (10′) of row. Too much nitrogen in fertilizer or manure may cause poor pod set and delayed maturity. If beans flower but do not set pods, the cause can be zinc deficiency. Try spraying the plants with kelp based fertilizer. Wet leaves on crowded plants are subject to diseases. Thin plants to increase air circulation and avoid touching the leaves while they are wet.

Harvest

Stop all watering when the first pods start drying out. Harvest when the seedpods are straw coloured. Pull the plants up by the roots and hang to dry. To shell the beans bash them back and forth inside a bag or pillowcase. Or shell them individually by hand. Do not pick until pods are dry. The beans themselves can then be set somewhere out of direct sunlight, where air movement is good, for a further week to insure even dryness.

About West Coast Seeds

West Coast Seeds  was founded in 1983 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Our purpose is to source and supply seeds of a higher quality than have been available to home gardeners. Following the traditions of organic farming and gardening, untreated and certified organic seeds are our focus. West Coast Seeds is certified by the Pacific Agriculture Certification Society (Certification number 16-205).

 

You may also like…