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How to sow bean seeds: the depth, frost and spacing

Updated: 21 October 2026

You have already chosen a broad bean, a French bean or a runner bean, and one weekend in April will not suit all three. How to sow bean seeds starts with the species: broad beans can take a mild autumn or a spring sowing, and French and runner beans wait until frost has passed and the soil is about 12°C. Depth and spacing below follow the RHS grow guides, not a trial of our own. The twelve packets are on the [bean seeds comparison](/hub/herb-seeds/bean-seeds). October and November, including drainage and mice, are on [sowing broad beans in autumn](/hub/herb-seeds/bean-seeds/sub/bean-seeds-autumn-sowing). Peter F. used those guides. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have already chosen a broad bean, a French bean or a runner bean, and one weekend in April will not suit all three.

Our top picks

Unwins Unwins Aquadulce Claudia

Best overall

Unwins Unwins Aquadulce Claudia
9.6/10about £2.48
View offer
Just Seed Just Seed Aquadulce (80)

Best value

Just Seed Just Seed Aquadulce (80)
9.4/10about £1.75
View offer
Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Mergoles

Alternative

Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Mergoles
8.6/10about £3.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Sow the species you already chose
  2. 2.Depth and spacing
  3. 3.Supports, cold soil and mice
  4. 4.After sowing

Sow the species you already chose

A broad bean is hardy. The RHS sows it outdoors in March, April and early May, and indoors from February. October or November is only a hardy variety on a mild, well-drained site. Do not copy that onto a runner. French and runner beans are frost-tender. They wait until frost has passed and the soil is about 12°C, usually late May or early June. Where a listing splits, keep both lines. Model 22397 says autumn in the bullets and February to May in the field. Where the window is empty, do not invent a month. The mung packet is for sprouting, and these steps do not apply to it.

Depth and spacing

Broad bean seed goes in scar downwards, 5 cm deep in modules from February, or 5–7.5 cm outdoors. Just Seed's Aquadulce care text already says 5 cm deep and 23 cm apart. Follow that where it is printed. French beans go in about 5 cm deep. Runner beans go in about 5 cm deep, two seeds at a cane, thinned to one. Mergoles prints 2.5 cm indoors and 5 cm outdoors.
Unwins Unwins Aquadulce Claudia

Testsieger

Unwins Unwins Aquadulce Claudia
9.6/10about £2.48
View offer

Supports, cold soil and mice

Put supports in before you sow a climber the listing actually describes. The RHS uses canes of about 2.5 m. Equator states 65 cm, so that frame is the wrong assumption. Broad beans flop and want stakes and string, not a runner frame. Cold, wet soil rots seed. In a sodden March, sow broad beans in a module, which also keeps mice off seed in the row. French and runner seed waits for frost and about 12°C.

After sowing

Once the lowest pods have set, pinch the soft tip. The RHS names black bean aphid, Aphis fabae, on that growth. Pinching is not a spray recipe. Water in dry spells. Leftover Aquadulce can still be sown in spring, because broad beans do not need a winter chill to flower. Sowings after mid-April produce fewer pods. That is an RHS timing note, not a yield for any ASIN here.

Common questions

How deep do you sow broad bean, French bean and runner bean seeds?
Broad beans go in 5 cm deep indoors and 5–7.5 cm outdoors, scar downwards, in the RHS method. French beans and runner beans go in about 5 cm deep outdoors. Mergoles prints 2.5 cm for an indoor sowing from April to May and 5 cm outdoors from May to July. Just Seed's Aquadulce care text says 5 cm. Do not use these depths on the mung sprouting packet.
When can French and runner beans go outdoors in the UK?
After the last frost, once the soil is about 12°C. The RHS usually puts French beans out in late May or early June, and runner beans from mid-May in the south and early June in the north. Indoor starts from mid-April still wait for that outdoor date. Polestar's April to July line includes weeks that are too early for a cold plot. Read the frost rule before the first month on the packet.
What does soil of about 12°C mean, and where is that stated?
It is the RHS outdoor threshold for runner beans, and the same figure the RHS uses for beans grown for drying. Those drying beans are not this set. The point is the temperature. We did not take a 10 cm probe depth from a garden blog. If you cannot check the soil, late May in the south, or early June further north, is the RHS calendar.
When do you put runner bean canes in?
Before you sow, if the listing is a climber without a short height cap. The RHS uses supports of about 2.5 m. Equator states 65 cm, so that frame is the wrong assumption for that packet. Yard Long and Hunter print 45 cm and 60 cm beside climbing titles. Broad beans need stakes and string so they do not flop, not a 2.5 m wigwam.
How do you sow broad beans so mice do not take the seed?
Sow in modules or small pots rather than straight into the row, then plant out. The RHS gives that route because mice eat seed in the ground, and because damp soil rots seed. It is the same module the February indoor sowing already uses. Outdoor autumn sowing has extra site rules, including drainage, on the autumn page.
How far apart are the plants, in the ground and in a pot?
Outdoors, broad beans are 15–23 cm apart, in single rows 45 cm apart, or in double rows 23 cm apart with 60 cm between the pairs. A dwarf broad bean in a container wants a pot at least 40 cm wide. French dwarfs are about 15 cm apart. Runners are two seeds at a cane, thinned to one. The Sutton's 65 cm height still applies in a pot.
When do you pinch out the tip?
When the lowest pods have set, pinch the soft growing tip. That is the RHS step against black bean aphid on the young growth. It is not a pesticide instruction. Do it on broad beans once that first pod is swelling, and do not wait until the plant is covered.

Related pages

Bean seeds buying guide

Best bean seeds

Broad beans vs runner beans

Bean seeds

Sowing broad beans in autumn: site, drainage, mice

Sources

Public UK sources named below. amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts on these twelve listings were read on 19 October 2026. Page updated 21 October 2026.

  1. RHS, How to grow broad beans (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. RHS, Sowing broad beans in autumn or spring (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. RHS, How to grow French beans (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. RHS, How to grow runner beans (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. Seed Marketing Regulations 2011 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK, Organic food: labelling and advertising rules (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. FSA, Home food fact checker (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. RHS, Blackfly on beans (retrieved 19 October 2026)