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No garden is complete without these easy to grow and prolific garden vegetables. I love the pole sorts best climbing on my bamboo teepees and fences. These members of the legume family also have the added benefit of the ability to enrich the soil.
The joy of fresh sweet garden peas is my favorite longed for treat of the entire gardening year. Thomas Jefferson's favorite vegetable was the pea, and he had a long running contest with his other farming neighbors for the first peas of the season. The contest started in 1757 and went on nearly every year into the early 1800's. Despite growing over 30 or more types of peas, he lost the contest each and every year! The fabulous purple colored Blue Capucijner peas are on my website banner on every page, and are my personal favorites for beauty. Plus you never have to wait too long to enjoy the first beans or fresh sweet limas of the season, as well.
I wish to thank my friend Cliff, who has a large ranch in Idaho, ( the perfect bean growing state in the United States, where virtually every commercial variety of bean is grown for seed). He has helped me to increase the amounts of my unusual and rare beans that I offer for sale. He grows many of my own beans on his ranch using sustainable methods. His help allows me to provide extra rare and nearly extinct bean seed to my fellow gardeners. I also grow the very same rare bean varieties simultaneously in Amishland, but due to limited space, in smaller quantities.
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STORTINO DI TRENTO STRIPED ANELLINO BUSH BEAN
RARE!!!Here is the second most beautiful snap type bean in the world, only beaten by the long vined beauty of "Stortino di Trento Marmorizzato Pole Bean" . It also translates from Italian as "Stortino of Trent marbled shrimp bean" Again , we have the curved "shrimp shaped" beans, only a bit thinner and slightly smaller in size. They seemed to be more striped and less mottled with the purplish red markings, and the seeds are darker and skinnier too. Rather spindly for a bush sort and it had a tendency to throw out "runners" or longer branches of vine, a certain sign of the old age of this heirloom Italian snap bean. I would say the blossoms were a paler pink rather than purple in color. Great culinary taste, as that is what Italians value in their vegetables even over their beauty. Another old Italian heirloom sort that has just been rediscovered. I consider myself very lucky to be one of the very few who has acquired these rare beans and grown them here in the USA to offer to you. They did splendidly here in my zone 6A garden, and I imagine will just about anywhere else, as they were so prolific as well as hardy. They didn't die off until hard frost in November. You will adore these beans, for beauty and fabulous taste.Many thanks to my friend Cliff in Idaho who also helped so much by growing more of these beans sustainably for me. That way I would have enough beans to offer to you in the first year of American growing.
10+ of my own fresh organically grown seeds
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RUSSIAN YELLOW BUSH PEA RARE!!!I got this great, rare Russian Yellow soup type pea in a seed trade. The peas are very small, like the French "petit pois" size .They are what is referred to in the pea world as "smooth coated" , not the wrinkled sort. They grew on very sturdy short bushes that did not need staking at all, although I wasn't told what size they would grow and put them by a fence.They were nice and early and like all peas nearly impervious to the cold.They had rather small pods, and I discovered that they were somewhat starchy so surmised that they must be grown for soup pea use. ( like you use the split peas for soup). The full sized peas are so tiny that I would say that they are about half the size of what we think of as a normal pea size. They are an unusual pale buttercup yellow in color. Sweet when cooked as a soup porridge ( "...pease porridge cold ,nine days old.." , as the old nursery rhyme says ) They make a great rich, thick pea soup as they cook down so fast. I tried to get an authentic recipe for Russian style pea soup from my Russian friends and they just laughed like " who can't make pea soup?" So much for that idea. I will also try to get a photo up soon of the dried peas in a bowl so you can see how tiny and cute they are . To the best of my knowledge I am the only USA source of these rare peas.
20 of my own fresh organically grown peas.
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LITTLE WHITE ICE BEAN or SPECKBOHNE ~SUPER RARE!
Pre 1845- I have searched for years for this bean, lovingly described in William Woys Weaver's bible on vegetables: "Heirloom Vegetable Gardening" . I think I finally found it. I got my original seeds from a seed trade. These are the most adorable, teeny, weeny snap beans of all. Makes those fancy French filet beans look like pug-ugly giants. The plants only get about 1 foot tall at most and the beans are about 3" long if even that big. They are about a third of the diameter of a pencil. See my photos to see how diminutive these really are. These lend themselves well to container growing and were originally developed in the 18th century for hothouse culture and forcing for the rich and royalty to show off. They were often used as a garnish for fancy high style food dishes, tied into tiny picturesque bunches with chives for ribbons. The pods have an amazing hard to describe ( and even harder to get it in a photo) cool, silvery green color. The beans look iced or misted, and that look is retained if gently steamed,(or try them poached in white wine as William Woys Weaver suggests). Hence the Ice in the name. If you like baby vegetables, this is a preemie ! You will love them but must stay right on top of their growing and check them every day. If even one day too late, and they can lose that tender Epicurean taste . As a bonus these tiny beans take only 45 to 60 days until harvest. The actual white dried beans for planting are only about 3 times as big as a grain of rice and are sometimes called rice beans. 20 of my own fresh organically grown seeds.
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PRETZEL BEAN - aka Ram's Horn Bean ~RARE ~LIMITED QUANTITIES~ORDER EARLY This bean will be a sure hit with children and will impress all your neighbors and fellow gardeners. You have never seen anything like it. An old heirloom bean from Lancaster County, grown here for years by the Amish and the Mennonites mostly just for fun. The pictures say it all. It really looks like a green pretzel! Absolutely lovely decorative purple flowers are on the plant at the same time as the beans. It can grow up to 6 feet , so a bit of staking will help, but mine usually are about 4 feet tall. It does best planted in blocks rather than rows. Absolutely showstopping fun for all to see. Can be cooked when young like string beans, but really more for show than culinary use. I guarantee everyone will want the elusive "Pretzel Bean" once they see it growing, and curling exactly like its namesake. I had heard about it and searched for it for years and finally tracked some down at a farm nearby, and got a good crop this year. It likes a bit of drought. 10 of my own fresh organically grown seeds.
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EVA'S "BIRDIE" BEAN -(BUSH SHELLING TYPE) -EXCLUSIVE~Pennsylvania Family HEIRLOOM -
- Eva was my very dear local Pennsylvania Dutch (aka Pennsylvania German) farm lady friend. She passed away at 89 years old this year in mid sentence asking her son about how big were his fish on his latest fishing trip. That's the way to go! I miss her so much! I go to her grave now and talk to her about how her gardens and mine have been doing .She put in a several acre vegetable garden all by herself each year and had been saving her family's heirloom seeds all her life. Her family is still farming in the same fertile valley here in Lacaster County PA as they have for over 5 generations! They still have several farms all adjoining each other. Her son Jerry, still farms right down the lane from her house, and they rent out another of her farms next door to a dairy farmer. This was one of Eva's personal favorite beans. She calls them "Birdie Beans" since they resemble speckled wild bird eggs. They are her own local sub-variety of an old time horticultural bean eaten in the " shelly " stage (like the way we usually eat lima beans).Sweet and pretty, the beans are pinkish white with speckles and streaks of red. They tend to change color each year a bit according to the weather that year and this year's crop were more brownish with brown red streaks. The pods are a gorgeous buff with cerise red streaks, very ornamental and not unlike my " Heirloom Pole Bean " in coloration. But these are a bush bean which sometimes throws out runners. You can cram alot of these plants in a very small space. Very disease resistant as well, and obviously quite acclimated to our Zone 6A area. These beans freeze or can nicely, but the best way to save them is to leave them to dry on the plant. Try these "shellies" in Italian or French cuisine, where fresh beans are called for. Eva's liked to make her pickled 3 bean salad using these as one of the beans. She also made the PA Dutch relish called "chow-chow" using these as one of the ingredients as well. Try growing them the Pennsylvania Dutch way, planting them on "Bean Day" , which is June 3 if you live in the same or similar growing zone. Planting beans too early only encourages bugs to come in sooner. Eva was a firm believer in planting by the moon cycles as well, and her gardens were the most prolific I have ever seen. I was still learning such tricks and techniques from her each time I visited her.
10 of my own fresh organically grown bean seeds.
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| TRUE RED CRANBERRY POLE DRY BEAN- - ~BACK FOR 2008~One of Only 2 Seed Sources! ~1700's HEIRLOOM
This is the rare heirloom bean that was rediscovered by celebrated bean collector, John Withee. He searched for 11 years for this bean after reading about a " Red Cranberry" bean in a 1700's gardening enclyclopedia. He finally discovered it growing on a Mr. Taylor's farm in Steep Falls, Maine . These beans are fat and shiny and a wondrous deep cranberry red color that does not show up well in photos. I am asking a friend to scan these beans as my photos of them in a bowl do not do justice to their beauty. These beans really do look like real cranberries ,only a bit darker red in color. These are probably one of America's oldest bean varieties, probably of Native American origin . True Red Cranberry beans grow on stocky, short 6 foot vines and can take the cold and short growing seasons better than any other bean I have grown. They have a rich flavor unlike any other bean I have tasted They are one of my personal favorites not only for beauty but for taste. 10 of my own fresh organically grown bean seeds.
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-PURPLE PODDED POLE BEAN - BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!- This is a heavenly, almost fluorescent purple pole bean, hailing from the Ozark mountains. This lovely heirloom beauty was found growing in a garden the 1930's by the old Henry Fields Seed Company. It is most likely of European origin and probably dating much earlier than that . Very vigorous grower of vines reaching easily over 6 -8 feet , but not out of control like some pole types I have grown. I grow mine on bamboo poles intertwined with my lovely purple "Grandpa Otts Morning Glory". It is stunning that way. It is a favorite bean for growing for children, since it "magically" turns bright green when cooked right before their very eyes. Plus the pods are so easy for youngsters ( and oldsters) to see and pick. Try growing a living "fort" on a bamboo teepee for your kids with these. These gorgeous snap beans are stringless, nice and meaty . They are less than 1/2 inch across by about 5-7 inches long. The entire bean plant just glows and is quite ornamental with purple vines and veins in the leaves, and as you can see in the photo lovely bi-colored purple flowers as well. Fairly early for a pole sort. Seed is a buff brown color, with a hint of lavender. 15 of my own sustainably grown fresh beans.
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PURPLE ITALIAN MARCONI STRINGLESS POLE BEANS- SCARCE~LIMITED QUANTITIES ORDER EARLY~( Also Will Be Available in New "Purple Pole Bean Trio") .
Just in from Italy, a fabulous violet purple Italian pole bean. I was so pleased with these pole snap beans. Vigorous and growing on strong vines up to 8 feet, these are just too beautiful to eat! These were grown on a trellis but they got so big and strong we had to attach an "addition" onto the fence holding up the trellis. . They are very ornamental and lovely. The "Purple Marconi Pole Beans" have flat 5-7 inch long pods that turn green when blanched, but the color can be maintained if steam blanched for under 2 minutes.These have a sweet but hearty taste, and are best picked young.Another edible ornamental for your garden, try them raw with crudites for their gorgeous color. Pretty early for a pole sort at 67 days to maturity. The color of the pods makes for fast harvesting and makes it so easy for kids, who love to pick them and then watch them turn a bright green color when they are cooked.The kids will eat their veggies now! A rare beauty! My special thanks to my friend Cliff who acquired and grew out these wonderful beans for me on his ranch in Idaho.Cliff grows all his beans sustainably, without pesticides. The lovely photo is also taken by Cliff on location. 10 fresh sustainably grown bean seeds.
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NEW - VERMONT APPALOOSA DRY BEAN
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dual purpose as dry/snap bean.- I received my original beans of this incorrectly labelled in a seed trade. They were suposed to be a very rare runner bean ( Phaseolus coccineus) . But alas, they were Phaseolus vulgaris, what we know as a snap/dry/soup bean, and were from an altogether different bean family. However, I was curious as to what they would produce, since they were a pretty spotted bean unlike any I had ever seen before. They had odd swirls of spots in black, brown, tan and white and were almost halved in color. So plant them I did, and was very plesed with the long pale, flat, green snap beans that it produced. This was a smallish, short , pole bean type, not really long vines, maybe 3 feet high at the most, but not a bush bean as it threw out runners. I would call them more of a half-runner sort. Nice crisp flesh, that held nicely on the vine, without getting lumpy or tough. Nice and prolific, and VERY resistant to insects. I finally was able to positively identify these as the old time Vermont Appaloosa Bean, so named because they look like the rump of this breed of spotted horse. Eat some early in the season as snap beans and leave some to dry on the vine in late summer or fall for dry beans. 25 of my own fresh organically grown bean seeds.
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 SCARLET EMPEROR RUNNER BEAN
(Phaseolus coccineus). A member of the Leguminosae, or legume family ( 70+ days). A traditional, and highly successful red flowered bean. Scarlet Emperor is a special variety of Red Runner Bean. It is a great climber and will cover your porch or bean teepee with red flowers and edible beans. A favorite of hummingbirds. Harvest runner beans at 4 to 6 inches long for best quality, but they can get over 12" long pods. This heirloom bean was first grown in the 1600's. Introduced to the United States in the 1800's. Used by native Americans, large vigorous vines over 12 feet long. The flowers are very ornamental, in clusters of the brightest scarlet, good to cook as snap, shell or dry beans. The huge seeds are very colorful, violet-purple mottled in black, sometimes called jewelry beans and strung into necklaces. I personally think they are the original "Jack-in-the-Beanstalk" beans! These beans like fairly cool weather. Even if you do not have a green thumb, these are for you! After planting, they seem to be at a standstill...then suddenly, they are shooting out everywhere! It's simply beautiful! In the photo, is my Scarlet Emperor Bean on the fence along with the wonderful deep purple "Granpa Ott's Morning Glory" for a superb color combination. My own organically grown seeds. 10 monster seeds.
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 EVA'S CHOW CHOW BEANS
150 YEAR OLD PA HEIRLOOM ~EXCLUSIVE~ONLY USA SEED SOURCE! ~ Eva passed away at 89 years old in June of this summer. I will miss her so much more than I can say. She taught me so very much about gardening and shared so many of her seeds with me. She gave me these beans that have been grown by her Pennsylvania German family for 5 generations on their local family farm. Small, prolific bush type bean plants. They are white color with a burgundy "eye" on the helix . Good in the green snap stage (Eva used them in the family's "chow chow" relish along with other beans, and corn.) They are also good dried in the pod and used a dry/baking/cooking bean. Very resistant to bugs and disease! I am the only source for these fine old heirloom beans.
My own 20 fresh organically grown seeds
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AMISH GNUDDEL BEAN - - NOTE: This is sometime spelled Knuddel, Knuttle, or Gnuttle Bean.( In Pennsylvania Dutch there are many variations in spelling as this is really only a spoken language~RARE
This is a very old Amish heirloom bean. It is what is called a "cutshort" because all the beans are squished in the pod so tightly that they have square sides. The translation of the dialect "gnuddel" is "dropping," or literally, "turd," because of its resemblance to a rabbit dropping. Such is Amish humor. It dates back to the early 1800's. The Amish use this as a dry bean for rich stew soups that they serve after their Sunday services to their whole congregation which meets in a local home each week. This is an important bean in their culture and in their meals. It is a a half runner bean, not quite as tall as a pole bean but it throws out runners that twine around whatever is available, so the Amish often grow it with corn. It grows about 5-6 feet tall, with short pods. It is a late season bean and takes about 90 days here in Amish country, or early September in my zone 6A garden. 20 of my own fresh organically grown seeds
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HEIRLOOM POLE - PRETTY BEAN - These lovely beans were originally given to me by a farm lady, here in Lancaster County. She didn't have any name for them. Absolutely lovely, I would say they belong to the horticultural bean family. Can be eaten in the "shelly" stage, that is when the pods grow lumpy, as you would eat fresh limas. However they make a nice snap bean in their green stage, or as a dry bean as well. These are the easiest and loveliest pole beans I have ever grown. The flowers are a pale lilac. The long 6-8" pods turn a fabulous bright fuchsia pink stripe and are truly ornamental! They grow about 6-7 feet on vigorous vines. Extremely rare as I am the only person selling these exact beans. 10 fresh Organic bean seeds.
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MOTH BEAN
Phaseolis aconitifolius- RARE!-also called Mother Bean or Mat bean. A rare annual warm season crop indigenous to India. Highly drought resistant. These sprawling mat- forming plants do great in very hot weather ( up to 100-120 degrees F!) and they protect the soil . A low growing plant with small rounded pods 1-2" long and about 1/2 " wide, which contain 4-8 tiny beans. In India the young tender pods are eaten as a fine dish, and the dry beans are used like lentils. They are also very high in protein at 22-24%. In California trials it was used as a "green manure " to smother weeds and succeeded well. Try this unusual and useful rare vegetable in your garden ,especially if you live in a drought -stricken area or the southwest. My own organic seeds - 10 fresh seeds.
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 ALMAS PA DUTCH PURPLE BURGUNDY LIMA BEAN
~BACK FOR 2008!
- This Lima is small and very dark burgundy purple and has a terrific yummy flavor. Very rare heirloom variety. My seeds are from my 87 year old Pennsylvania Dutch friend, Eva, whose family has grown these same lima beans on her farm for 5 generations. Long vines and very prolific. This season they "attacked" my 7 foot Butterfly bush and grew all over it! For those of you in colder regions who thought you couldn't grow lima beans, these may be worth a try, they kept pumping out until hard frost!
15 of my own fresh organically grown seeds
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AMISH SUGAR SNAP PEA This is an old Amish heirloom, despite the recent claims in seed catalogues that this is a brand new variety of vegetable. It is grown like an old fashioned vining pea, but the thick, sweet, succulent peas are consumed juicy pods and all. My locally collected strain grows very tall (up to 6ft.) and must be staked. They will be absolutely covered in fabulous, unbelievably sweet, crunchy, pea pods! Prolific harvest, there is far more to eat than with English (shelling) peas. Perfect in stir fry. These will bear for a very long season if picked daily. 20 fresh Organic Peas.
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Organic GREEN ARROW PEA ~Prolific~Sweet~Easy - (65 DAYS)- 25 of my own Organic Seeds.-This pea sets the standard for mid-season varieties. Long pods with up to 12 peas per pod, on vines up to 3 feet . Very heavy yielding, this was my best producing shelling ( English) pea. Very easy to pick because the pods tend to set in pairs on the top of the strong vine. The peas themselves are rather small and have a nice sweet flavor. This is a popular pea , but very hard to find in organic seed. My own organic seed. 20 Fresh organic seeds.
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