Black Coco

Phaseolus vulgaris

This French heirloom bean is incredibly versatile - it can be harvested young, fresh and green, you can wait about 10 days and harvest it as a shelling bean, or leave it to dry on the vine and put up dry beans for winter! It's a fantastic soup bean, plumper than most black beans, with a rich aroma and deep flavour. Five inch pods with 5-6 beans in each grow abundantly on these plants, which reach about 2 feet in height. They could use some support, but it's not crucial to their success, they're rather sturdy.