There is no doubt that homegrown beans taste so much better than shop-bought ones. So growing them should be a no-brainer for any vegetable gardener.
Especially because green beans are also very healthy, as they contain a whole host of nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, fiber, and protein. Eating green beans can help keep your heart, bones, and gut healthy.
Given all this, I decided to grow them. But should I grow climbing or dwarf beans? This is a question that needs careful consideration and will depend on different factors.
Here we look more closely at this question and provide you with all the information you need to make the right decision for you and your garden.
The Difference Between Climbing And Dwarf French Beans
First, let’s look at the difference between these two types of French beans. The main difference lies in the way they grow.
Climbing beans, as the name suggests, grow upwards and can get quite tall. In contrast, dwarf bean plants are bushy and grow outwards more than upwards.
As a result, dwarf beans, as the name suggests, won’t grow as tall.
This vital difference is responsible for many of the pros and cons associated with climbing and dwarf beans.
So keeping this in mind, let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages of both types in detail.
Advantages Of Growing Dwarf French Beans
As we have said, dwarf bean plants grow bushy and only reach a height of between 30cm (12in) and 45cm (18in). This comes with many advantages.
No Support Needed
Because dwarf bean plants don’t grow very tall, they don’t need any support. This means once you have planted them into the beds, you can just let them do their thing.
Although some gardeners like to use one bamboo cane to give them a bit of stability. It’s up to you, but generally speaking, this isn’t necessary.
So fewer materials and less maintenance are needed to grow dwarf beans compared to climbing beans. As such, it’s a great plant for beginners who have less experience, or people with less time to dedicate to their gardens.
Fit In small Spaces
Not only do dwarf green beans not grow tall, they also don’t grow that wide. They’re quite compact plants, which means they don’t need much space at all.
So if space is limited in our garden, you can still grow dwarf French beans and benefit from their many health benefits.
You can even grow them in the same bed as taller plants, such as sweet corn or climbing French beans, to maximise the space you’ve got.
Great For Growing In Pots
As they don’t grow that high and don’t need support, they are ideal for growing in pots. Beans are hungry plants, so make sure you use good-quality compost and mix some organic matter in.
Water them regularly, especially during dry weather. Keep in mind that the soil will dry out quicker in a pot.
This makes dwarf beans ideal for small gardens with limited space in beds, balconies, and patios.
Easy To Grow
All this makes dwarf beans very easy to grow, as they don’t need much maintenance. It’s an ideal plant for newbie vegetable gardeners who don’t have much experience yet.
Due to their compact size, they are much easier to protect from late frosts. Just wrap them in fleece or cover them with a cloche if they are still very young.
Early Cropping
With less time needed to grow big, dwarf bean plants are earlier to crop. As long as you start them off indoors in March/April, you can start harvesting delicious beans as early as June.
This makes dwarf French bean a great choice to ensure you have tasty and healthy vegetables early in the cropping season before most other veggies start to produce fruit.
Especially if you want to profit from homegrown produce for the best part of the year.
Drawbacks Of Growing Dwarf French Beans
As you can see, dwarf beans have quite a lot of advantages. But now let’s look at the disadvantages.
Shorter Cropping Period
While dwarf beans will crop earlier, they won’t crop for as long. One plant won’t be able to see you through all of summer.
Generally, the cropping period for a dwarf bean plant only lasts a few weeks.
However, if you want to prolong the cropping period, you can sow your dwarf French bean seeds a few weeks apart and repeat sowing. Growing dwarf French beans in this way will give you tasty beans all summer long.
That’s because, when one plant has finished cropping, the next one will start. You will need a bit more space, but it’ll be worth it.
Smaller Yield
The dwarf variety doesn’t crop as heavily as its climbing cousin, so you will get fewer beans per plant than with a climbing bean plant.
That’s because the plants are smaller, which means the amount of energy they can produce to put into growing fruits is less.
Repeat sowing, as explained above, can counter this downside, but it will be a bit more work. I guess it all depends on how long you want to enjoy the delights of homegrown green beans for.
The Benefits Of Growing Climbing French Beans
Now let’s look at the benefits and drawbacks of growing the climbing variety of French beans so you can find the answer to our question: Should I grow climbing or dwarf beans?
Longer Cropping Season
Unlike dwarf beans, climbing beans will crop for a longer period, for about three months. From July until September, you will be able to harvest beans from one plant.
That’s great, because it means one plant could be enough, depending on how big your family is and how many beans you need.
Bigger Yield
Not only will climbing bean plants crop for longer, but you’ll also get a bigger yield. As long as you pick them regularly, that is.
Picking beans young will encourage the plant to produce more, and young beans are tastier and less stringy.
Disadvantages Of Growing Climbing French Beans
While the benefits of climbing beans are huge, there aren’t very many. There are more downsides than upsides.
Need A Lot Of Support
Climbing beans can grow as tall as 2 -2.5m (6-8ft). Well, they can grow taller, but most gardeners will recommend snipping up the tops at this height.
For one, it makes it easier to harvest the beans without needing a ladder. Although, being quite small, I would probably need a ladder for a 2-meter-high bean plant.
But this will also ensure that the plant focuses on producing beans lower down, rather than putting energy into growing taller. Just like you would do with tomato plants.
As you can imagine, such tall plants will need a lot of support. Providing a high trellis, a double row of bamboo canes, or the wigwam method, you use three 2m-long bamboo canes tied together at the top with twine.
Whichever method you use, make sure that the support is tall enough. Especially if your garden is quite windy, make sure your climbing bean plants are well supported.
More Maintenance Required
Because of the need for support, it’s important to keep tying new shoots to the cane structure or trellis to keep them supported.
This additional maintenance requirement can make growing climbing beans less attractive. It depends on how much time you have to give and how much other plants need.
Heavy Cropping Quickly Turns Into A Glut
I have put this in the list of disadvantages, although some people might not see it as such. But once you have pinched out the top and they start focusing solely on producing beans, harvesting can become a bit of a chore.
And it’s important to harvest regularly when the beans are still young, to make sure the plant continues to produce.
A glut of green beans can be a great thing, if you don’t mind eating them every day or if you have time to preserve them for later in the year, because French beans won’t keep that long and are best eaten fresh. However, they are great for freezing.
And it’s easy to do. Just blanch them in boiling water for two minutes. Then rinse them under ice-cold water so they stop cooking.
Then dry them, put them in a freezer bag, and pop them in the freezer. They will last up to 18 months when frozen.
Pickled green beans also taste great and are a great way to enjoy your glut into winter.
Less Suitable For Growing In Pots
While it is possible to grow climbing beans in pots, you will need very large containers to prevent them from falling over in the wind.
As they grow so tall, you have to ensure that they won’t get top-heavy, so climbing French bean varieties are best grown in beds or vegetable patches.
This makes them unsuitable for balconies and patios, or small gardens. You also have to take into account that they will block out light due to their height. So be mindful of what you grow close to them.
We would recommend plants that need more shady spots, like spinach.
Later Cropping
Climbing French beans will start cropping later than dwarf beans. In the UK, they will start producing fruit in July.
However, as we have said, they will be cropping for longer, so continuous sowing won’t be necessary. It’s not possible to prolong the cropping period much beyond September, because French beans don’t like the cold.
Any early frost will kill the plants.
Should I Grow Climbing Or Dwarf Beans? – How To Decide
So which one should you grow? Well, this will depend on your individual circumstances. To help you decide, ask yourself these questions:
- How much space do you have? – Dwarf beans don’t need much space and grow well in pots
- How much time do you have to care for them? – Dwarf beans need less maintenance, but if you want to increase the cropping season, repeat sowing will be necessary
- How many beans do you want to harvest? – Climbing beans are heavy croppers once they have started and crop for longer
- How early do you want your beans? – Dwarf beans start cropping earlier
Considering these questions can give you an idea which bean variety is best for you. However, if you still can’t decide and you have the space, you could grow both.
The dwarf bean plants will give you an early harvest, and when they are finished, the climbing bean plants start cropping. This will give you a cropping period from June to September without having to repeat sowing.
Whichever is best for you, the good news is that no matter your circumstances, you can grow green beans and enjoy their taste and health benefits. Read our guide about the secret to growing dwarf French beans and get started.
