Pole beans Phaseolus vulgaris except where noted.
All packs contain 25g unless otherwise indicated.
All packs contain 25g unless otherwise indicated.
Blauhilde Pole Bean 65 days. A stunningly productive and versatile climbing french bean of German origin. Vines climb to ten feet and are laden with attractive lavender blooms and tender, stringless purple pods – making them easy to pick among the foliage! Pods can become quite large, but are best picked at medium stage, and turn green when cooked. Very resistant to disease.
Blue Coco 70 days to snap stage. A rare heirloom originating in France before 1775. Known for vigour and adaptability to heat, cold & drought, making it an excellent choice for short-season areas. High yielding vines with purple-tinged leaves produce beautiful dark bluish purple pods. Like many heirloom beans, can serve as a snap, shell or dry bean, depending on picking time. Seeds are tan to chocolate colour, depending on growing conditions. Out of stock!
Kahnawake Mohawk 90 days to dry stage. A difficult to find heirloom of First Nations origin. Traditionally used as a dry bean, but equally tasty eaten fresh if picked young. Vigorous climber and good producer with tasty meaty green pods and attractive plump round seeds, cream-colored with striking brown swirls around the “eye”.
Marvel of Venice (white-seeded) 65-70 days. An old Italian heirloom. Vigorously climbing Romano variety with broad flat yellow pods that are stringless. There are two versions of this named variety: one with large and plump round black seeds and one with white seeds. This is the white-seeded version. Delicious and tender when pods are young.
Monte Gusto 55-60 days to snap. Although this elegant and exceptionally tasty pole bean has been circulating in recent years, we have only had the opportunity to grow it out in sufficient quantity to offer this season. These stringless wax beans are bright-yellow, pencil-thin and oh-so-crunchy! Will easily climb to 6 feet and keep producing throughout the season until first frosts.
Painted Lady Scarlet Runner Bean Phaseolus coccineus . A fast-growing vigorous climber sporting deep, scarlet-red showy flowers. Large, colourful seeds up to one inch long. Great for a fast-establishing shade screen or privacy screen.
Polish Pole Bean 90 days to dry stage. A very rare and distinct heirloom said to have originated in Poland early in the 20th century. Climbs to about six feet, and sports a multitude of small 2 to 3-inch pods, each bearing up to five lustrous and shiny, diminutive round beans. Can be picked fresh when young, but primary use is for dry beans. Very disease-resistant variety.
Rattlesnake Pole Bean 70 days to snap; 90 days to dry beans. This well-known & popular heirloom is, like many older heirlooms, versatile in its uses: it can be picked early in the season for delicious stringless snap beans, a little later for flavourful shell beans, or left to mature and dry in the pods for unparalleled winter soup beans. Beautiful, 7-inch long purple flecked pods with very attractive mauve flowers. Highly productive!
Soisson Vert Pole Bean A rare French heirloom of the flageolet class. These large, lime-green shell beans are uniquely prized for their creamy, tender texture and delicate flavour that excel in purees or traditional French cassoulet dishes. The vines are laden with easily shelled pods that dry down well in the autumn. Can be frozen to enjoy in winter like shell peas, after a short period of blanching.
True Red Cranberry 65 days to snap stage, 90 days to dry stage. One of the oldest & most rare heirloom bean varieties under cultivation, probably of First Nations origin from what is now the northeast US. Dried beans are plump, shiny and a deep cranberry-red. Can take our cooler short growing season better than most varieties and has a rich flavour unlike any other bean I have tasted. Vigorous climber.
Turkey Craw 75 days to snap stage, 90 to dry stage. A rare heirloom with a storied pedigree from the Southeast US. Turkey Craw had been found in the 'craw' or 'crop' of a wild turkey shot in the 1800s by a local hunter, who kept the beans and planted them! Very productive, though not early. Long, stringless, meaty pods excellent for canning or freezing. At dry, mature stage, seeds are a unique buff colour with copper-caramel speckles.
Uganda Bantu In a word: gorgeous! In two more words: little jewels! This rare landrace variety, said to have originated in a small village in Uganda, is a diverse & exciting mashup of different pod sizes containing a vibrant kaleidoscope of seed colours, shapes and sizes. Ranging from round to kidney-shaped and in hues of olive-green, jade, pink and purple, earth-tones, these climbing dry beans are scrumptious and esthetically pleasing to grow. Require support up to 8 feet.
Alaska Round Soup Pea 50-55 days A very early bearing shelling or soup pea, depending on when they are picked. Vines grow up to 3 feet and benefit from some support such as a few twigs and branches stuck in the patch here and there. Pods bear 6 to 8 peas each. A reliable classic dating back to the 1880’s. 20 grams.
Carouby de Maussane Snow Pea 65 days. An extraordinary heritage variety originating in the south of France. Tall vines can reach 5 feet or more and require support. Pods are enormous (6 inches!), though retain their sweet, tender quality even as they size up. The bicoloured flowers are pink and mauve, making them a good choice to feature as an ornamental focus in the garden.
Champion of England Pisum sativum 60-75 days. A traditional tall-vined garden pea originating in the UK in the 1840’s. At one time, before the introduction of machine-harvesting, most pea varieties were tall-vined. The advantage for home gardeners is a great return for a small space. Champion was recently rescued from near-extinction by the ‘Real Seed’ Company in the UK. Fantastic, disease-resistant and productive. Shelling Pea.
Golden Sweet Snow Pea 65 days. A striking and rare lemon-yellow snow pea with bicoloured purple flowers. Vines easily reach 5 to 6 feet and require support. Be sure to pick pods when they are still small, as they lose their crunchy quality and become somewhat bitter and stringy if left on the vine too long. ~20grams.
Magnum Bonum A traditional English tall shelling pea. Thick and meaty pods are enormous for a shelling pea, and each contain an average of 7 fat peas. Exceptional sweet taste! Somewhat later to mature than other varieties of its class (e.g. Champion of England), but worth the wait! A very rare heirloom variety developed in England in the 19th century.
Schweizer Riesen Snow Pea Pisum sativum 65 days. Name means ‘Swiss Giant’. An old Swiss variety. Strong-climbing & vigorous variety with large foliage, thick vines and lovely pink & mauve flowers. Generous producer of plump 6-inch pods superbly sweet and crunchy at any stage. Will grow to 8 feet!
Tooker's Peas A small but highly productive shelling pea gifted to us through the network of Seeds of Diversity Canada. Vines grow to about 5 feet, loaded with 3 inch pods each containing 5 to 6 peas each. Named after the renowned Canadian environmental activist Tooker Gomberg who tragically passed away in 2004. Read about Tooker here : http://greenspiration.org/tooker/bio-tooker-gomberg/ 20 grams.
