Country Girl at  Angel Song Acres  

Beans are a Wondrous Wealth!

Click Here to read "Henry David Thoreau's writing "The Bean Field".

And click here to learn about the health benefits of beans.

And click here to learn about making flour out of beans.

Also click here to learn how to use bean flours in everyday cooking.

 

These are some of the MANY bean varieties that I LOVE!

1 ) Calypso Dry Bean -Unique black and white seeds on a strong, upright 15" plant. Large oval beans are dramatic - half white, with an eye half black and dotted with black spots. Ideal for organic gardeners, as it's highly disease resistant.

Light: Full sun - Height: 15" to 18" - Spacing: 2" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring

Maturity: 90 - Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

2 ) China Yellow Dry Bean - New England heirloom dating before 1870. Also known as 'Sulphur Bean'. Early-maturing variety good for short-season gardens. Small, plump, pale yellow seeds are larger than Navy beans. Unrivaled flavor for soups or baking. Cooks quickly and easily.

Light: Full sun - Spacing: 2" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 90-95

Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

3 ) Cannellini Dry Bean - Also known as 'White Kidney Bean'. Classic Italian white shelling bean with large kidney-shaped seeds. Upright, vigorous and productive plants grow to 24". Fine baking quality.

Light: Full sun - Height: 24" - Spacing: 3" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring

Maturity: 100 - Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

4 ) Bumble Bee Dry Bean - A large white dry bean that has a black spot. It has a very mild flavor which makes it excellent for soups, salads or main dishes. It has similar qualities other dry beans have being high in vitamins and minerals. A heritage variety from Maine. Named Bumble Bee for its large size.

Light: Full sun - Spacing: 2" to 3" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 98

Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

5 ) Black Coco Dry Bean - Black Coco is much larger, oval round and very shiny compared to other black "dry" type beans. Although it is said to be a good snap green bean, the pods quickly become tough and stringy once they mature. It is very good for making a rich flavored black bean soup. This variety is early maturing and grows on an upright, strong bushy plant.

Light: Full sun - Spacing: 2" to 3" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 90

Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

6 ) Etna Bush Shell Bean - Classic, premium quality cranberry-type shelling bean. Remarkable, brightly colored, red and green speckled pods filled with cream and rose mottled beans. High quality, fine-flavored beans are good in soups and other cold- weather dishes. Vigorous, bush-type plants yield loads of 6" broad pods filled with buff colored beans. Resistant to Common Bean Mosaic Virus.

Light: Full sun - Spacing: 2" to 3" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 68

Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

Seeds Per Packet: 2 oz - $2.45 ea

 

 

 

7 ) Great Northern Dry Bean - Very old variety originally grown by the Mandan Indians of the Dakotas. Excellent baking bean with outstanding consistency. Plants are semi-vining and prolific. Widely grown in northern tier states. Also used as a 65 day shell bean.

Light: Full sun - Height: 24" - Spacing: 2" to 10" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring

Maturity: 85 - Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

Seeds Per Packet: 2 oz. - $2.25 ea

 

 

 

8 ) Garbanzo Dry Bean - Also known as 'Chick Pea'. A large tan bean with nut-like flavor which keeps its shape well when cooked. The erect, bush-type plants have an appearance unlike any other bean plant. Use as a shell bean or allow to dry (100 days) and store. Well suited for drought areas but not for extreme Northern climates.

Light: Full sun - Spacing: 2" to 3" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 65

Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

9 ) Flagrano Bush Shell Bean - To really enjoy the flavor of flageolet beans, you must harvest them as a 'green shell' bean. Each pod of this variety contains 8-10 mint green seeds that are easily extracted from their pods. The beans can be used fresh, in salads, soups or as a vegetable by themselves. They can also be frozen for a delicious meal. Also good as a dry bean.

Light: Full sun - Spacing: 0" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 76

Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

10 ) Painted Pony Bean - An heirloom that is a multi-purpose bean. It can be picked in the early stages for a snap bean or left a few more weeks until mature and used for a shell bean. The half brown and half white kidney- shaped bean gives rise to its name. A very sturdy and productive 16" plant.

Light: Full sun - Height: 16" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 55-85

Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

11 ) Lina Ciscos Bird Egg Dry Bean - These beans were brought to Missouri in the 1880's by Lina's grandmother. It is a large horticultural type tan bean with maroon markings. It has a nice upright bush and is productive.

Light: Full sun - Spacing: 0" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 85

Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

12 ) Jacobs Cattle Dry Bean - Also known as 'Trout Bean', 'Coach Dog Bean', 'Dalmatian Bean', or 'Anasazi Bean' - old but unknown origin. Favored by Maine cooks in baked bean recipes because the beans soak up flavors superbly while retaining their own identity. Pure white beans with deep maroon splashes are borne on 24" high plants. Use as a shell bean or dry bean.

Light: Full sun - Height: 24" - Spacing: 2" to 4" Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring

Maturity: 85 - Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

13 ) Marrow Fat Dry Bean - This heirloom variety is a navy bean that is much larger, egg shaped and much better for baking than most other navy beans. The plant habit is half runner and the flat inedible pods each have 5 to 6 beans per pod.

Light: Full sun - Spacing: 2" to 3" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 100

Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

14 ) Lows Champion Bean - An heirloom dark red dry bean noted for its sweet flavor. Each 18" to 24" plant is loaded with long, flat pods containing 6 beans. It is suited for heat as well as the cool climates.

Light: Full sun - Spacing: 2" to 3" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 65

Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

15 ) Money Dry Bean - Heirloom from England. A great variety for short-season gardens. Very attractive, kidney-shaped beans are white with brick-red speckles. Upright bush-type plants produce good yields of pods each containing 5-6 beans. Fine flavor and texture. Excellent for baked beans and soups.

Light: Full sun - Spacing: 2" to 4" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 95

Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

16 ) Navy Pea Dry Bean - Also known as Navy Bean. Small semi-vining plants produce small pure white oval beans. An excellent baker.

Light: Full sun - Spacing: 2" to 4" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 85

Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

17 ) Scarlet Beauty Dry Bean - This bean was developed by plant breeder Elwyn Meader of New Hampshire. A beautiful bean, red with some beige striping and large in size. It is somewhat of a sprawly plant, probably due to the heavy yields of long heavy pods. It reaches "shell bean" stage in 70 days and dry bean in 90 days. Makes a great chili bean.

Light: Full sun - Spacing: 2" to 4" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 90

Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

18 ) Red Kidney Dry Bean - Well-known field bean and one of the best varieties for use as a dry bean. Large, red, kidney-shaped beans rich in flavor and excellent baked or boiled, in soups, salads, Spanish and Mexican dishes. Very reliable!

Light: Full sun - Spacing: 2" to 4" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 100

Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

19 ) Peregion Dry Bean - Oregon heirloom with unsurpassed eating quality. Perhaps the most beautiful of all dried beans. Produces different colored beans in every pod - solid mocha-colored, bittersweet chocolate-colored many with contrasting stripes or marbling. Small-sized beans are excellent for baking and delicious in soups. Keeps color contrast after cooking. Hardy, very productive bush-type plants can be a bit sprawly. Disease resistant and easy to grow.

Light: - Full sun - Spacing: 2" to 3" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 95

Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

20 ) Pink Floyd Dry Bean - A unique pink colored, normal sized dry bean. Grows well in almost any climate, even dry climates. Highly resistant to rust.

Light: Full sun - Spacing: 0" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 98-102

Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

21 ) Pinto Dry Bean - Essential bean in Mexican dishes. Pods are borne close to the crowns of half-runner-type plants that can be grown as a pole bean. Medium-sized beans are light buff-colored speckled with brown. Delicious flavor and texture - thin-skinned, yet cook up firm and tender. Also an excellent shell bean.

Light: Full sun - Spacing: 3" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 90

Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

22 ) Red Mexican Dry Bean - An heirloom prized in California since 1855. Bush-type plant, 14" high with early runners and medium green pods. Favored for its excellent baking qualities as it does not become soggy or fall apart. The color and taste hold up well when baked or boiled, making it perfect for soups.

Light: Full sun - Height: 14" - Width: 0" - Spacing: 3" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring

Maturity: 85 - Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

 

23 ) Red Ryder Dry Bean - A red dry bean that matures early enough for short season gardens. The bean is normal size, yields well and is borne on upright bushes.

Light: Full sun - Spacing: 0" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 84-88

Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

24 ) Soldier Dry Bean - Popular New England heirloom bean passed from generation to generation. Hardy 18" high plants produce heavy yields of pods each containing 6 kidney- shaped white beans with the characteristic dark maroon "soldier" on the eye. Easy to grow, especially in cool climates, and drought resistant. A mainstay of the New England baked bean suppers. Excellent in stews and baking.

Light: Full sun - Height: 18" - Width: 0" - Spacing: 3" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring

Maturity: 85 - Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

25 ) Texas Cranberry Bush Shell Bean - An old-time New England heirloom dating back to the 1700's and is perhaps the most attractive of all dried beans. Un-duplicated quality, reliability, and hardiness have made it our most popular bush shelling bean since our beginnings in the seventies. Useful as either a fresh shell bean (60 days) or dry bean (85 days). Brightly colored, red-mottled 6" long pods are borne on vigorous, upright bush-type plants. Their sweet, succulent flavor is wonderful in soups, for baking and in a variety of other delicious ways.

Light: Full sun - Spacing: 2" to 3" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 60

Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

26 ) Yin Yang Dry Bean - The Chinese 'Yin and Yang' (symbol of male and female harmony) is perfectly reproduced in this bean even down to the corresponding black spots in the white part. The plants of this bean are 15 to 18 inches and bear numerous pods that can be eaten young, but are best left to mature and ripen revealing 'Yin Yang' in all its glory. They have excellent flavor and can be used as a dry bean, but the color disappears with cooking.

Light: Full sun - Spacing: 3" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 100

Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

27 ) Topaz Dry Bean - An early maturing Pinto type dry bean that is ready to harvest when most dry beans are just starting to mature. The bush is upright in habit making it easy to harvest. Beans are white with pinkish speckles.

Light: Full sun - Spacing: 0" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 88-93

Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

28 ) White Half Runner Bush Shell Bean - Very popular across the South as a shelling bean, and as a tender, string-less snap bean. Not recommended for northern climates. Bushy and vigorous vines with short runners that thrive in heat with little water. In certain areas this bean is also known as the Mississippi Skip Bean.

Light: Full sun - Spacing: 3" to 4" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 60

Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

29 ) Arikara Yellow Dry Bean - Seeds were originally obtained from the Arikara tribe of North Dakota. Prolific plants produce a good yield of yellow-tan seeds. Has a nice bushy habit.

Light: Full sun - Spacing: 0" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 80-90

Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

30 ) Adzuki Dry Bean - Extremely high in protein. Bushy, 2' tall plants produce high yields of long, narrow pods, each containing 7-10 small dark red beans. Excellent eaten as a snap bean at 60 days. Mature bean has distinct "nutty" taste. Widely used in Japan and delicious with rice and tomatoes.

Light: Full sun - Height: 6' - Spacing: 4" to 6" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring

Maturity: 60-90 - Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

31) Texas Appaloosa Dry Bean - Although compact, 18-24", they frequently develop short runners. Green pods are flat, 5" long and 1/2" wide, and contain 4 to 6 kidney-shaped seeds mottled purple and white, with many variations occurring in the mottling - like the rump of an Appaloosa pony. Can be snapped when young, but usually dried and shelled.

Light: Full sun - Spacing: 3" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 80

Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

32 ) Black Turtle Dry Bean - Favored in Latin American and Caribbean cuisine. Vigorous, dwarf, bush-type plants bear heavy yields of small black beans, 7-8 per pod. The young pods are crisp and tender and may be used as snap beans if picked early. Grows well in all regions except the far North.

Light: Full sun - Spacing: 3" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 85

Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

33 ) Brown Dutch Dry Bean - Old Pennsylvania Dutch heirloom. Particularly notable for its flavor--dry, almost nut-like. Unbeatable when baked, boiled or used in soups. Plants are compact, about 15-20" tall, with heavy yields of caramel-colored seeds.

Light: Full sun - Height: 15" to 20" - Spacing: 3" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring Maturity: 83 - Needs Isolation: No -Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

34 ) Coco Rubico Bush Shell Bean - The most beautiful, dramatic bean we've ever offered! Very early, can be used fresh, shelled or dried. Produces heavy sets of big, cream-colored beans with bright rosy colored spots throughout the season. Pods are 5-6" long, flat, and a beautiful, pink-streaked color.

Light:Full sun - Spacing: 4" to 6" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 60

Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

35 ) Lima Bush Bean - The earliest large podded bush lima bean. Strong and vigorous plants produce enormous yields of flat pods, filled with beans of lusty, sugar-sweet taste. Large clusters of 5-6 flat 5" pods make for easy picking. Easy to shell.

Light: Full sun - Height: 18" to 24" - Width: 18" to 24" - Spacing: 8" to 12" - Needs Pollinator: No

Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 70 - Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No

Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

36 ) Texas Creamer Peas - Originally bred by the Department of Horticulture, Texas A & M College, College Station, Texas and released in 1952. It is adapted to do well under diverse conditions but is best suited for the southern United States. The plants are upright, pods well above foliage, early, and prolific.  The pods are six to eight inches long, medium sized, and slightly curved. The seeds are small, kidney-shaped, and white with an orange eye.

Light: Full sun - Spacing: 4" to 6" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 65 Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes

 

 

 

 

37 ) Fava Beans - This Old World variety is a good choice for an extra early crop. The upright, 3-3 ½ foot plants produce long pods of tasty and nutritious beans. Can withstand the cold. Plant seeds either in very early spring or in the fall, for a late harvest.

Light: Full sun - Spacing: 4" to 6" - Needs Pollinator: No - Planting Season: Spring - Maturity: 85 Needs Isolation: No - Seed Start Indoors: No - Seed Start Direct: Yes