Common bean Alaric

The Tarbais Type Alaric Climbing Bean is a regional variety from the South-West of France. Highly productive, it produces flat pods containing 5 to 6 very white seeds that can be consumed immature like snap beans. However, it is mainly known for the softness of its seed and the tenderness of its skin. Indeed, its seed is used dried in the preparation of cassoulet. It can be harvested from June for pod consumption and from August to October for seed consumption. Since the 18th century, this bean has been cultivated in association with maize based on the principles of beneficial companionship. However, the manual harvest of beans, compared to the mechanization of maize cultivation, has significantly reduced the cultivated areas. It has since regained the ground it had lost thanks to the rediscovery of regional seeds. Sow this variety from April to July to harvest from June to October. Whether consumed for its pod or its seed, the bean is a highly appreciated vegetable in gardens, as it is very easy to grow. It is so punctual that the gardener knows the exact date when it will be ready for the first harvest, which is 60 days after sowing.

Discovered in the New World and acclimatized in Europe from the 16th century onwards, the bean has now become an essential legume in all diets around the world. Native Americans cultivated it for its dried seeds, but it was the Italians who, in the 18th century, initiated the consumption of the whole pod by picking it when it was immature.
The bean is a vine-plant with indeterminate growth. Primitive varieties are all vines and require staking. Later, for practical reasons, dwarf varieties were selected, but all still produce tendrils that can wrap around a support.
The pods are usually green, sometimes yellow (butter beans), streaked with red or even amethyst. Among the varieties that are eaten at the fin or extra fin stage, there are the filament beans that develop threads at ripeness. Then, the pod becomes parchment-like and loses its taste.

The snap bean is generally more fleshy and can be consumed entirely, both the seeds and the pods, even when fully ripe. The more recently created filament-snap beans can be consumed young as extra fin until they become fleshy, like snap beans, as they do not produce threads.

Among the shell beans (i.e. beans that are consumed only for their seeds), a distinction is made between the harvest of fresh seeds and that of dry seeds, which occurs 90 days after sowing.

Immature green pods are rich in vitamins A, B9, and C, as well as trace elements and minerals. Dry beans are also very rich in vitamin C, trace elements, and especially vegetable proteins.

Harvest: the harvest of fresh seeds or young pods begins 60 days after sowing. For fresh seeds, it must be done before the pods start to dehydrate and develop wrinkles. The seeds should barely take on their color. For pod consumption, the harvest should take place every 2 or 3 days, both at the fin and extra fin stages for filament beans. The harvest of dry seeds is done by cutting the entire plant, which is then hung in a dry and airy place. The seeds can be shelled as needed.

Storage: freezing the pods is now the most common method of preservation. To do this, remove the ends, wash the pods, blanch them for 5 to 6 minutes in boiling water, then plunge them into cold water before drying them with a clean cloth. Once packaged, the beans can be placed in the freezer at -18°C (-0.4°F). However, canning is regaining its popularity among an increasing number of consumers due to the inherent taste qualities of this preservation method. As with freezing, remove the ends, wash and blanch the beans, then plunge them into cold water. Place them in jars and fill them with salted boiling water. Seal the jars and sterilize them in a pressure cooker or sterilizer for 1 hour and 30 minutes over medium heat. To do this, completely cover the jars with water after securing them tightly.

Dry beans: when completely dry, bean seeds can be stored for up to a year if kept in good conditions, such as in airtight jars.

Gardener's tip: beans, like all members of the Fabaceae family, have the ability to fix nitrogen from the air in the soil through a plant-bacteria symbiosis. They have the ability to regenerate soil. Beans can be grown as part of a crop rotation after burying green manure.
Traditionally, bean cultivation in Central and South America is associated with the cultivation of squash and maize, forming a triad with positive companionship. This association is locally called Milpa. Beans also associate well with eggplants, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, and radishes, as they protect each other. However, avoid planting them near alliums or fennel, as their growth will be inhibited.

Spraying with nettle manure allows for effective control of aphid attacks while also strengthening the plants that have benefited from it.