Days to Maturity: 50 in southern latitudes; 60 in northern latitudes
Royal Horticulture Society Award of Garden Merit
An all-around superior performer, Algarve, an Italian Romano Pole bean, sets plentiful pea-shaped white flowers in spring, followed by masses of very uniform, straight, thin, mid-green pods that reach up to 11 inches long and 1 inch wide. They have a tender bite with phenomenal, award-winning flavor. Completely stringless, the attractive pods look as good as they taste.
Typically grown as an annual, this herbaceous short-lived perennial (Zones 7-11) has a short growing season and performs in many different climates. Algarve is a vigorous, robust indeterminate variety, growing vertically as a graceful flowering vine that requires support, such as our bean growing tower or natural bamboo ring set, creating height and dimension in the garden. The vine may also be allowed to trail along the ground. Although the plant maintains a small footprint, it produces high yields for about a month. The beans are easy to harvest and earlier than most. Promptly picking the beans before the seeds mature keeps the beans coming.
A shallow-rooted plant, Algarve grows best in a sunny location with moist, fertile, organically rich, well-drained loams. It is resistant to common bean mosaic virus. Self-pollinating, it will bear fruit without any pollen from other varieties.
A warm-season vegetable, sensitive to cold temperatures and frost, it is best direct-sown into warm spring soil after all danger of frost has passed. Succession plant every two weeks until about mid-August to ensure a continual harvest.
Algarve Italian Romano Pole bean seeds can also be started indoors and planted outdoors after the risk of frost has passed. If you plan to start your seeds indoors, be sure to check out our Bio Dome Seed Starter Kit. With the Bio Dome, you can control the temperature, light, and soil mix to ensure your seeds become strong for transplant.
