How to grow Borlotti Bean (Lingua di Fuoco)

Phaseolus vulgaris

🥕 Vegetable 🌱 Grown each year

Climbing Italian beans with cream-and-crimson speckled pods. Eat the beans fresh, or dry them for winter stews.

At a glance: Sow late April to late May, harvest from late July.

When to sow, plant and harvest

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Sow outdoors

Harvest

Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.

Late April – late May · 2 weeks after the last spring frost
Sow Seeds Outdoors
Sow thinly in drills where they are to grow.
7–14 days after “Sow Seeds Indoors” · Early May – mid May
Check Germination
Seedlings should appear in 7–14 days. If sown outdoors, thin to 20 cm up canes apart when big enough to handle.
7–21 days after “Plant Out” · Mid May – late May
Add Support
Train up a wigwam or row of 2 m canes; tie young stems in to start them off.
86–107 days after “Check Germination” · Late July – late August
Start Harvesting
Pick pods for fresh beans when well-coloured; for dried beans leave them until the pods are papery, then shell and dry.
40–70 days after “Start Harvesting” · Early September – early October
Finish and Clear
Clear the remains to the compost heap once cropping ends.