Growing French Filet Beans

We love growing all sorts of different delicious vegetables, fruits, and culinary herbs, but if we had to choose one favorite here at Roger’s Gardens, we’d have to say the French filet bean! If you’ve never grown this delicious, versatile veggie before, you’re seriously missing out! Here’s how to grow it in California, plus some creative recipe ideas to use up your harvest.

Growing French Filet Beans
is Easier Than You Think!

We love to grow beans in the garden; on top of being tasty and nutritious, they deposit nitrogen into the soil, which helps your other plants grow even more healthy, lush green foliage. Here’s how to get started.

Where to Plant French Filet Beans

You can directly sow French filet beans in the soil one inch deep, in rows spaced two feet apart. Space pole beans two inches apart, and space bush beans four inches apart. Ensure the soil is loose and well-draining with plenty of organic material mixed in and a pH level between 6–7.5. A soil test will tell you the pH of your soil and if any essential nutrients are lacking.

Sow your seeds in warm weather once the soil temperature hovers between 70–90°F. Succession planting will help extend your harvest, so we recommend planting French filet beans every 2–3 weeks from June through July. Seeds won’t properly germinate in cool soil, although dark-colored seeds tend to germinate more successfully in cooler conditions than white seeds. Plant your beans in a location that gets lots of direct sunlight. 

Pole beans will need a trellis, stakes, or some kind of support structure to keep them upright. If you’re planting long rows of French filet beans, you can insert two 6-foot tall stakes into the soil—one on either side of the row—and stretch netting across it for your beans to climb. Use twine to loosely tie your plants’ stems to their supports to keep them upright without inhibiting their growth. Bush beans are more dense and compact and don’t grow very tall, so they won’t require staking. 

Watering French Filet Beans

French filet beans need about one inch of water per week. Watering them once or twice a week should suffice, and you can hold off on watering after heavy rain. This plant will perform best if the top six inches of soil remain consistently moist; if we’re going through a drought and extremely high temperatures, you can increase watering. 

Harvesting French Filet Beans

Your beans are ready to harvest once they’ve reached ¼–⅛ inches in diameter, about the same thickness as a pencil, but still soft and tender. Harvest them right away when they’re sweet and have a nice soft texture. If ripe beans sit out in the sun for more than two days, they’ll become tougher and less flavorful. You may find you need to harvest them every two or three days.

Eat them up quick—French filet beans aren’t as suitable for canning or freezing. Luckily, there are many delicious ways to enjoy them, so you’ll have no trouble finding creative recipes to use up your harvest!

Recipe Ideas for French Filet Beans

Here are some delicious recipe ideas to enjoy these sweet, tender beans bursting with flavor and nutrients!

• Green Bean Casserole
• Sautéed French Filet Beans with Garlic and Shallots
• Green Beans Almondine (French filet beans topped with slivered almonds)
• Cream of Green Bean Soup
• Garlic Lemon Green Beans with Parmesan and Truffle Oil

Some folks like to toss chopped French Filet Beans into salads—just make sure you steam them first! Eating high volumes of raw beans can cause stomach aches.

We have plenty of French filet beans for sale, so visit Roger’s Gardens to stock up in time for summer. Bon appetite!