‘Stregonta’ Stringless Bush Bean

An OUTSTANDING early bush borlotti bean from Italy, colourful pods with red stripes on a pale green background, ready in about 70 days from germination.

It is very quick to set, and the pods can be picked and the whole thing is stringless and delicious just like any french bean, a handful pictured here.

But then you can let them get bigger and use the seeds shelled out as fresh beans for cooking – when they have stong red spashes – just boil for 20 mins or so without soaking. Later the seeds dry to a darker tan colour for storage overwinter.

It’s very unusual in that it is dual-purpose for fresh and drying/shelly use – excellent picked as a normal green bean , and then any that get bigger can be easten as seeds, which are delicious and so big that they go a bit square from being squeezed into the pods.