Beans

Hope Seeds offers a wide selection of beans to suit all preferences.  Many of them are edible at more than one stage (eg. fresh snap bean, fresh shell bean, dry bean), making them multi-purpose and versatile.  General rule of thumb is to plant beans in warm soil (earliest we can get them in is about a week and a half before last Spring frost), and only pre-soak if you know there will be moist weather/soil for a few days.  Beans should be planted approximately 3-6" apart (the further distance is preferred for dry bean production to faciliate airflow).

Pole Beans - New in '10:  True Cranberry Red
Bush Beans - New in '10:  Dragon Langerie, Gilmore Wonder

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Pole Beans 

BACK!    TRUE RED CRANBERRY  (Pole, dry)                   Certified Organic 105 daysto dry stage.  This bean is the real beauty queen, and sells on looks alone!  Deep red, round beans about the size of a...well, cranberry (!),  are the fruits of your labours.  Vines are vigorous but manageable at 7-10’ long, producing purple blossoms and green pods.  Seed advertisements in an 1808 edition of the early Fredericton, NB newspaper, The York Gazette, include Cranberry beans, but sources show it has been around since at least the  1700’s.  Believed to be an original type grown by Native people, who shared it with colonists.                     Product code: 1016-CO                               Price:   A=$2.75 (25g)     B=$8.00 (100g)

BAIE VERTE INDIAN  (Semi-pole, dry)                               Certified Organic 100 days to dry stage.  This is a real dedication to Acadian heirlooms, passed on through many hands and gardens in a small area from Cape Spear to Port Elgin, NB and eventually to Hope Seeds from Theodore Duguay of Cap-Pele.  It is believed to be originally from the early local natives who shared it with Acadian settlers in the area.  Since many of the natives and Acadians intermarried, the bean was passed around the local community and was at one time quite popular.  Today, there are few natives left in the area and the bean is now referred to as an Acadian heirloom.  Vines reach about 3-4'  and produce green pods with white, robust kidney-shaped seeds with an irregular tan-coloured splotch flecked with reddish-brown around the hilum.  I grew this in the corn patch this past summer (started the corn early, planted the beans a few weeks later) and the stalks made excellent supports holding the pods up out of wet soil.  An excellent soup bean that maintains its colour when cooked. Product code: 1024-CO                               Price:   A=$2.75 (25g)     B=$8.00 (100g)

MENNONITE PURPLE STRIPE                           (Pole - snap, shell, dry)                                                                                                    Certified Organic   SORRY...Sold out by 17-Mar-2010! Ain't no taming the Purple Stripe!  Vigorous vines challenge any pole, producing pretty shades-of-purple flowers yeilding abundant pods with tasty beans.  Pods are green with deep purple streaks, and beans display the same purple streaks on a tan background (or reverse colouring).  The best part: beans are tasty at any stage, surpisingly juicy even at the "in between" point between snap and dry. Seeds of Diversity Canada lists this variety as extremely rare.

BACK!   PURPLE PEACOCK (Pole - snap, dry)                      Certified Organic 72 days to snap stage.  This pole bean tolerates early plantings in cooler soil than other varieties.  Purple pods are delicious as a snap (fresh) bean, turning green when cooked. Left on the vine to ripen, dry beans are lovely in soups and stews. Product code: 1018-CO                               Price:   A=$2.75 (25g)

INA'S WHITE (Pole, runner - dry)                                 Sustainably Grown 90 days to dry stage.  This is one heckuva great dry bean!  Beans have a silky-smooth, melt-in-your-mouth texture when cooked, none of that grit or pasty-ness that some beans have.  This strain is from Theodore Duguay of Cap-Pele, NB, who claims it came from Mrs. Ina Wheaton of Sackville, NB.  Ina claims it could have come from the lakes in Murray Corner, NB, and has been grown there for over 100 years.  Vines are approximately 8-10', white flowers and green pods.   Product code: 1017-SG                                  Price:   A=$2.75 (25g)     B=$8.00 (100g)

RED UNDERGROUND YARDLONG (Pole - snap)           70 days to snap stage.  The yardlong bean is also known as the long-podded cowpea, asparagus bean, snake bean, or Chinese long bean.  Grown for their strikingly long stringless fresh pods (about 18" - not quite a full yard!) which are commonly used in Asian cuisine. Product code: 1019                                 Price:   A=$2.75 (20g)     B=$5.00 (100g)     C=$7.50 (454g)