2022 Bean Guide

Written By Lauren Murphy

Below is a list of the heirloom beans I have grown this year and their stories, as well as links to where I purchased them.

  1. Turkey Craw Bean:

    • pole snap bean

    • “This bean is the dominant bean within 100 mile radius of Cumberland Gap, where the states of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee join.” - Sustainable Mountain Agriculture

    • According to folklore, a couple hundred years ago - a hunter somewhere in East Tennessee shot a wild turkey and removed a bean pod from its craw. They saved the bean seed, planted it the next year, and it was the best bean anyone had ever tried - growing in popularity until it was the preferred bean in the area.

    • I have bought Turkey Craw Beans from:

      • https://www.southernexposure.com/products/turkey-craw-pole-snap-bean/

      • https://www.heirlooms.org/store/p65/Turkey_Craw_Bean.html

      • https://www.seedsavers.org/turkey-craw-bean

2. Goose Neck Bean

  • Another very popular Southern Appalachian bean

  • large, tender, cornfield bean

  • similar to the story of the turkey craw bean, this bean was found in the neck or the craw of a wild goose - by the hunter who shot it.

  • I bought my seed from:

    • https://www.heirlooms.org/store/p190/Goose_Bean.html

  • I am looking forward to adding this bean, Hobb’s Goose Bean, to my bean collection:

    • https://forgottenheirlooms.com/shop/ols/products/hobbs-goose-bean

3. Old Time Alabama Rattlesnake Pole Bean:

  • Drought resistant, pole snap bean.

  • A very famous heirloom bean. I grew these out for Dove Stackhouse of the Sand Mountain Seed Bank.

  • Many rattlesnake beans have been bred over time to be less beany - and more tough, to withstand mechanical harvest. So, not all rattlesnake beans are the same.

  • You can reach out to Dove about ordering rattlesnake bean seeds here: whirlwindfarms4@gmail.com

  • I would also trust the rattlesnake bean seed available from Seed Savers Exchange:

    • https://www.seedsavers.org/rattlesnake-snap-bean

4. Whitey Swanger Greasy Bean:

  • extremely rare, white-seeded large-type greasy bean from Haywood County, NC

  • developed by White Swanger of Fines Creek

  • I got my seed (and most of my rare Appalachian bean seeds) from Bill Best’s Collection at Sustainable Mountain Agriculture (Cookeville, TN):

    • https://www.heirlooms.org/store/p15/Whitey_Swanger_Greasy.html

5. Cherokee Long White Greasy Bean:

  • white-seeded greasy bean from the North Carolina Cherokee Reservation

  • https://www.heirlooms.org/store/p137/Cherokee_Greasy.html

6. Fox Family Greasy Bean:

  • cut-short greasy bean

  • The story goes like this: there was a Scottish guy who came to American and was drafted into the British Army during the Revolutionary War. When the British lost, he fled into the mountains of Western North Carolina. There, he met and married a Cherokee woman, whose contribution to the marriage was a cut-short bean, and their family has been growing the Fox Family Greasy Bean ever since. Now you can, too.

  • I got my seed from Bill Best’s Collection:

    • https://www.heirlooms.org/store/p7/Fox_Family_Greasy.html

7. Hickory Stick Bean:

  • a brown-speckled, cut-short bean in a pink pod

  • originally from the Rose family on Happy Top Mountain in Jackson, County Kentucky

  • This is also a Bill Best Collection Bean:

    • https://www.heirlooms.org/store/p115/Hickory_Stick_Bean.html

8. Red Swan Bush Bean:

  • a very unique red bean with beautiful pink and white flowers

  • less of an heirloom and more of a very unique bean

  • I got my seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds:

    • https://www.rareseeds.com/red-swan-bush-bean

9. Golden Butterwax Bush Bean:

  • originally introduced in 1876, this is a bright yellow wax bean with a bush habit.

  • I have had many market goers from the Northeast who have been very excited to find a wax bean in the South!

  • I got my seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds:

    • https://www.rareseeds.com/golden-butterwax-bean

10. Velour Purple Filet Bean

  • this is a hybrid, purple-podded filet bean - which will be more hull than bean

  • this is a bush bean, but should be grown with some kind of staking, as my plants were not very sturdy

  • this bean is a pretty purple that cooks green, but it made me realize that I don’t have much interest in non-heirloom beans.

  • Here is the link in case you love them!

    • https://www.johnnyseeds.com/vegetables/beans/bush-beans/velour-bean-seed-2559.html

I am looking forward to writing more on beans when I have a better blog format figured out, but until then - here are the basics!

Lauren Murphy https://www.hillfolkfarmacy.com