Phaseolus Family

Beans!! I prefer to grow bush beans purely because they do not require trellusing.

Beans were one of those things I completely thought of as an afterthought in 2011; I barely even cared about watering the poor things. Then one afternoon in late September I found myself over by the Flor de Mayo beans and noticed they had survived the summer. Last spring I was at a total loss on how you even plant a bean; basic bean planting 101 was advanced. Funny to think back less than 12 months I was confused as to the larger idea behind how you stick a bean in the grownd; and at a loss as to why you even grow them.

For those readers who want to understand bean planting 101: Take a handful of beans, poke a bean half a thumbs-deep, plant in a row on 4-6 inch spancing, double rows of beans are often sown to increace yeild. And that is bean planting 101.

This year the bean planting is going to consist of about 35 types, all bush bean. There are four bean types indigenous to North America: Tepary, Lima, Common and I forget the forth.

Bingo - Brown with speckles of darker brown. Looks like a pinto type. Found in my Aunt Carolynn's seed box. Totally awesome to enherit a seed box collection, all kinds of things can be found. If the person is old enough, there is often discontinued varieties in these old collections. Unfortunately, they are often too old to be any good. But sometimes treasures are found.

Koronis Purple - Larger purple bean with whips of white speckles. Grown by a Canadian farmer; the color, though really pure and deep and beautiful, my not remain that color when grown in Oregon.

Flor de Mayo - Tan color with webbing of purple/red radiating out from the Hilum. These were the beans I left for dead in the heat of an Oregon summer, and they did just fine. These are the beans responsible for getting me excited about beans, and why this list of beans is so long.

Montezuma Red - This has a long history, can't remember that history at the moment though. Beautiful shine to this bean, small, looks like it would make a super baked bean dish.

Agate Pinto - Whitish tan coating with dark brown speckles. Collected these from the local super market. Almost spent $3.50 on these through an online seed company. Then realized I could probably just go to the store and buy a pound of these things for $1.50. This bean has a long history in America as being the Pinto bean of choice amongst all grocery stores.

Henderson Lima - Found in my aunt's seed collection with Anasazi. In figuring out the identity of these beans I channeled Lon Rombough's thought process. By doing some basic online research into the the most common type of Lima bean and then chancing upon a photo of Anasazi, I was able to conclude that the odds these two were Henderson and Anasazi was VERY LIKELY. Turns out, Anasazi is available in bulk at New Seasons, and Henderson is also readily available. If there was any doubt, I could always just toss these old seeds and start over. However, because the Anasazi were found in an old seed collection, using old Anasazi is almost in keeping with the history of the bean.

Anasazi - Brown and white splotches of equal splotchiness. Small, tend to vary between two different shades of brown.

Top Crop - Some beans are grown for show, others are actually grown for food. This was developed in 1950 and won the AAS award (I have no idea what he AAS award is) Apparently very disease resistant, good for canning and freezing. This bean is perhaps grown more for the bean pod, whereas Montezuma Red is grown for the bean itself.

Pencil Pod Balck Wax - Bright yellow pod and stringless. Again, this is a bean used for canning and freezing, and less for bean soup.

Blue Lake 247 - A small white bean, looks similar to Flagolet. Another one of these beans used for freezing or canning. However, I recieved this bean in a surplus box of vegetable seeds; judging from the amount of seed packets of this bean, NO ONE IS BUYING THIS BEAN!!!

It occures to me that the shelling beans sell better because they are neat to look at; whereas pod beans for freezing are about a popular as Brussel Sprouts.

Great Norhtern - Large, flattish white bean, good for bean soup. Another one of these beans chosen by super markets as a winner. I bought a pound of these guys for $1.50.

White Half Runner - Found in my aunt's seed collection in a one pound sack. Judging by the white color, and small uninteresting size, these are grown for freezing and canning.

Cannellini - These are sold by the pound at New Seasons. If I were more of a New Seasons shopper I could have saved myself $3.50 plus shipping and handling by visiting the bulk food section. Sometimes seed collectors get sucked into online shopping.

Nickel - Found in my aunt's seed collection. Judging by the color and size, these are a canning and freezing pod bean; don't know much else about this bean at this point.

Mayo Coba - Bought at the bulk section of Winco. Was noticing this latina woman scoping these into a plastic sack like she was about to make soup right there. Mentioned that these were a good bean. They are a mid-sized white bean, perhaps grown in California.

Soldier - Collected by the one and only, Mary Ann Fox, of Shelbyville, IN. Does not change pattern after cooking.

Jacob's Cattle - Collected by the one and only, Mary Ann Fox, of Shelbyville, IN. Does not change pattern after cooking.

Butterscotch - Collected by the one and only, Mary Ann Fox, of Shelbyville, IN. Does not change pattern after cooking.

Bumble Bee - Collected by the one and only, Mary Ann Fox, of Shelbyville, IN. Does not change pattern after cooking.

Calypso - Could have bought this one at New Seasons, instead I paid $3.50 for 50 beans. This is a really neat bean, black and white; also called Yin & Yang bean because it is a Yin & Yang.

Orca - Similar to Yin & Yang, but smaller with more black speckling on white. Obviously different than the other.

Black Turtle - Dull black color, small. Often used as a young snap bean. Obtained from Mary Ann Fox, of Shelbyville, IN.

Uzice - A Serbian bean sold to me from Two Wing Farm on Vancouver Island, BC. A very large white bean with a red/tan Hilum speckled with dark brown. A very attractive bean.

Royal Burgundy - There is something unique about this bean, I think it is a purple bean pod?

Flagolet - The pod bean of French culinary folklore. Spent $3.50 buying some online, turns out you can buy these buy the pound at New Seasons.

Sonoran Gold Tepary - Develped by the Papago Tribe of the Sonoran Desert. This is a drought resistant bean composed of 30% crude protein (I have no idea what that means.)

Liana Yard Long Asparagus - This bean, black eyed peas and Chinese Long Bean are all in the same group. These "long" beans are long and a bit foreign to most American gardeners.

Chinese Long Bean - Collected from an actualy Chinese woman in Beaverton who had them growing on her fence. They are actually somewhat bizarre to look at.

Black Turtle - Dull black color, small. Often used as a young snap bean. Obtained from Mary Ann Fox, of Shelbyville, IN.