In the past I've always grown snap beans. I don't like snap beans from the grocery store and won't eat them, but the ones from my garden are always tasty. This year I decided to grow dried beans as well. I've grown them in the distant past. I think I swore never to grow them again for some reason. Was it because they are so hard to harvest? Or because they don't produce all the much for the space they take? I can't remember. That is probably the reason I'm growing them again.
My snap beans are my tried and true Kentucky Wonder. Every year they produce well and just keep coming. This time they have failed me. I've gotten less then ten beans off of the plants in a couple of weeks. I do finally see a lot of flowers blooming on them, so maybe they will start to produce again. They haven't been all that healthy. I think the bean patch has some rust in it and the Kentucky Wonder is the worst off. The other beans have it too but just a few leaves at the bottom of the plant.
Both of my other two beans are from the Ottawa gardener. I wanted to grow Trail of Tears and she offered some to me, along with an unknown cranberry bean that I have dubbed the Ottawa Cranberry.
Trail of Tears is an incredibly vigorous plant. It has been taking trying to take over the Kentucky Wonder poles and it has finally succeeded in its incursion on one pole. It is so wrapped up in the other beans I can't get rid of it now. Well no matter. Supposedly it makes a good snap bean when young too.
Trail of Tears
The pods start out a nice dark green, but over the last week the older ones have been changing color. They are a deep purple red. They are so pretty. But not nearly as pretty as the other dried bean.
Ottawa Cranberry
Isn't this bean just goregous. It makes me smile every time I go out into the garden. It is such a wonderful laced pinkish red. I had no idea the boring green pods would turn out to be butterflies. I just hope they taste as good as they look.
Those are pretty beans. I think Trail of Tears may have an interesting history attached to them, but I've not taken the time to look into it.
ReplyDelete*sigh*
ReplyDeleteOh beans...I could sit and look at them or read about them for hours. I just love them so much.
The Trail of Tears are gorgeous...that color is incredible!
Wow, I'm a sucker for anything red, purple or burgundy and these are just splendid.
ReplyDeleteThe Cranberry of course is amazingly beautiful, but the Trail of Tears is a knockout, too.
Lovely pics !
I have not grown dried beans for two years - I think I may have to work them back into the garden next year. I love the trail of tears - beautiful color. I am taking it that this is a climber? I have saved seed of some beautiful dark red kidney beans, pintos, and some large navy beans. The red kidney beans are a stock bush bean but the pintos are a half runner and need support to grow well.
ReplyDeleteDaphne, when my Kentucky wonder started coming in, it was at a really slow rate. I even contemplated pulling them. Thankfully I didn't, because they have done magnificent. Give 'em some time....
ReplyDeleteMy beans were slow to start, but are now producing enough to keep us in beans to satisfy our craving.
ReplyDeleteThey are beautiful! I would grow them just to look at them!
ReplyDeleteWow those are some gorgeous red beans.
ReplyDeleteI have never grown dried beans. This post has convincd me I should try next year.
I think those are called Vermont Cranberry or October Cranberry Beans .... but I LIKE the name Ottawa Cranberry. They are great fresh in a kale soup.
ReplyDeleteSupermarkets always have boring veg - no wonder people grow there own - they are wonderful! Such a gorgeous colour and very pretty in the Veg patch!
ReplyDeleteI'm disappointed in my Kentucky Blue variety. It started off well, and gave me a few delicious pickings. Now it is just looking sickly and providing me with just a handful of beans now and then. Even the new blossoms seem to just dry up. Evidently it can't take this heat we've had lately. Your vines are looking so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteLinda, It is a bean that was taken by the Cherokee on the trail of tears. So it does have a lot of history.
ReplyDeletetaylor, it is a really pretty and very deep rich color.
Miss M, thanks.
kitsapFG, Yes I only grow pole beans. I hate bending over all the time to pick the beans. Pole beans I can do standing up and I love the look of the beans on the poles.
EG, I hope it gets going. It does look like some of the vines have a lot of flowers. Usually I'm inundated with beans by the end of July, but not this year.
keewee, I'm hoping for enough beans to freeze some for the winter. I did freeze some from early August, but the beans have fizzled out after that. KW has never done that to me before.
Sheila, they are really pretty. I used to grow scarlet runner beans just so I could see the flowers.
selina, try it! It is always fun to try something in the garden that you haven't before. I always try to do something new each year.
coffeeandapplepie, supermarkets really do have some boring vegetables. The farmers market sometimes has interesting varieties, but not always. I have seen dragons tongue beans there. They are really pretty.
Annie's Granny, at least we don't get that kind of heat here. We finally had one day in the 90s. The 80s is bad enough with our humidity. I feel like I can swim through the air.
These beans are very beautiful! On a side note, I can't stand a name like "trail of tears" "widow's tears" stuff like that. I know I'm probably just crazy and sentimental, but I'm just too saddened by it. ok, back to the beans, yes, they are so pretty!
ReplyDeleteTrail of Tears is a reference to some aboriginals (I believe Cherokee) that were sent on a forced march where many died.
ReplyDeleteIt is an amazingly vigorous bean and very tasty both in the green stage and as a dried bean. The dried beans are small, shiny black and make excellent chilis.
Wendy, well they are named for a very sad part of our history. I would rather remember than forget about such things even though it is sad when you think about them. There is the adage that says if you ignore history you are doomed to repeat it, so we should remember the sad things as well as the happy. To me the Trail of Tears beans brings of images of genocide and persecution. I have Native American blood in me from both sides of my family though I'm mostly English, Welsh, and Pennsylvania Dutch (which is German and not really Dutch). My husband is Jewish. So I take such things a bit personally. I do understand not liking such names in the garden which tends to be my happy place (except when the dreaded chipmunk eats my tomatoes), but still I'll keep it and remember and be sad when I think of it.
ReplyDeleteOttawa Gardener, Yes. It is a reference to the forced march that the Native Americans (five different tribes: Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole, Chickasaw and Creek) were made to take. They were relocated from the southeastern US to states farther west. Many died on the trip which is why the march was called the trail of tears. The bean is an heirloom Cherokee bean and carried by them on the march.
Those really are lovely beans. I agree with Wendy about the sad name though... Anyway, I've decided to try and grow dried beans next year. These 2 varieties should be on the list. A vigorous plant is such a good quality in my book.
ReplyDeleteJackie, The Trail of Tears is one of the most vigorous pole beans that I've ever seen. I think it is bent on total domination of the world. The other beans aren't nearly as vigorous. A few didn't even make it to the top of their pole. Both plants seem to keep setting beans though. I figured they would give up once they had some ripe beans on their vines, but nope. They keep putting out more flowers. Not quite as many as before but they aren't giving up.
ReplyDeleteYour beans are beautiful, especially the Trail of Tears. I am growing vermont cranberry beans which are a bush variety. They look just like the Ottawa Cranberry.
ReplyDeleteNext year, next year, you've really inspired me.
ReplyDeleteDan, the cranberries are a pole variety though I've thought they look an awful lot like Vermont as well.
ReplyDeleteHow pretty!
ReplyDeleteMy summer crop of beans was a bust.... sigh... but I've got a fall crop coming along...
Hi Daphne - just read your response and need to clarify that I totally agree with what you said. My husband's great grandmother was Cherokee and he feels it's an immense part of his culture. I re-read my use of the words, "I can't stand" and don't want to give the wrong impression. I totally agree about the image that Trail of Tears instantly brings. Long story short, it's just sad is all I mean to say. Just as a very pretty "love lies bleeding" flower is sort of morose!! Then, again, I would also not be enthused about a daylily (I think) named for Captain Kirk. No offense to Captain Kirk, just don't want my daylilies named after him.
ReplyDelete