Phaseolus vulgaris.
The North American gold standard for the green bean. The Blue Lake line takes its name from a region in northern California, where it was selected at the turn of the 20th century for its perfectly straight, round, stringless pods in glossy dark green. The dwarf, or Bush, version appeared in the 1960s for gardeners who didn't want to put up stakes — all the character and flavour of the original line, but on a compact 40-50 cm plant that stands up on its own.
The pod is tender, meaty, mild, almost sweet at full maturity, and holds a firm texture when cooked — a quality that made it the darling of the canning industry for decades. In the garden, it produces in a concentrated wave, convenient if you want to blanch and freeze a big harvest at once, or do old-fashioned canning. For fresh table use, spread your sowings instead over 4-6 weeks — a new row every two weeks — and you'll eat fresh beans from July through September.
Grower's tip: The bean hates cold and damp — sown too early in a chilly soil, it rots before it germinates. Wait until the soil is genuinely warmed (15 °C minimum, generally late May in Québec). As a legume, it fixes its own nitrogen through symbiotic bacteria — no need to fertilize with nitrogen, you'd just get lots of foliage and few pods.
- Open-pollinated. Largely self-pollinating; few crossing concerns between varieties.
- Height: 40-50 cm. No staking needed.
- Maturity: 55-60 days.
- Exposure: full sun.
- Loose, well-drained, moderately fertile soil. Avoid excess nitrogen. Space plants 10 cm apart in the row, 50 cm between rows.
- Direct-sow once the soil has warmed (late May to early June in Québec). To spread the harvest, sow again every two weeks until mid-July.
