‘King of the Garden’: 95 days, pole, dark green 8-inch pods, rich, nutty-tasting beans, high yields
Runner Beans
(grown for snap, shell, or dry beans)
‘Painted Lady’: 100 days, vigorous vine, 1855, red and pinkish white bicolored flowers, pods to 12 inches, brown-and-white seeds
Scarlet Runner: perennial vine grown as an annual, red flowers, pods to 1 foot, prefers cooler climates
Shelling and Dry Beans
‘Black Turtle’: 90 days, bush, South American, from before 1806, shiny black beans, hardy disease- and heat-resistant plants
‘Borlotto’: 73 days, bush, Italian heirloom, colorful rose-and-cream pods, delicious creamy white beans with rosy speckles
‘Genuine Cornfield Pole’: 72 days, originally from Mexico, long favored by Iroquois, can be planted among corn plants, 6-inch pods, 10-to 15-foot vines, heavy producer, pods can be eaten when young but they are best shelled fresh and dried
‘Great Northern’ (‘Great Northern White’): 65 days for shelling beans, 95 for dry beans, bush, introduced in 1907 but originally obtained from Mandan tribe, white bean, often available in grocery stores
‘Hidatsa Shield Figure’: 90 days, pole, from Hidatsa Indians in North Dakota, large white bean with speckled tan “shield”
‘Jacob’s Cattle’ (‘Trout’): 85 to 95 days, bush, New England favorite, originally from the Passamaquoddy tribe, white seeds with maroon splotches, for shelling or dry, in baked beans keeps its shape
‘Low’s Champion’: 90 days, bush, 1884, New England heirloom, strain of ‘Dwarf Cranberry Bean’, small deep-cranberry beans with white eyes
‘New Mexico Bolitas’: New Mexico heirloom, these light brown beans cook faster than pintos
‘Santa Maria Pinquito’: 75 to 90 days, vigorous semi-trailing vines, ⅓-inch long squared off pink beans, valued in California since the days of the early Spaniards, stays intact when cooked, great for baked beans and refried beans
‘Soldier’: 85 days, bush, well-known New England heirloom, slender, kidney-shaped, white seed marked with a “soldier” in yellow brown on the eye; does well in cool climates and in drought
‘Black Seeded’ runner beans
‘Swedish Brown’ bean and Soldier bean
‘Christmas’ lima beans
‘Jacob’s cattle’ bean (center), ‘Dr. Martin’s’ lima
Fava beans, ‘Black Seeded Yellow Wax’ beans,‘Blue Lake’ snap beans, ‘King of the Garden’ limas, and the speckled cranberry pods
‘Swedish Brown’: 85 days, bush, very hardy, plump, oval, brown beans with a dark eye rim; popular in Scandinavian-settled areas in the United States
‘Vermont Cranberry’: 75 days for shelling, 98 days for dry, pole; old northern New England variety, for all climates, round, deep maroon beans, a version of cranberry bean; some have speckled seeds, others have colorful pods
‘Yellow Eye’ (‘Maine Yellow Eye’): 95 days, bush, hardy, traditional in New England, oval white bean with yellow eye; prolific, reliable, disease-resistant plant; takes less time to cook than most beans
How to prepare: Most of the old varieties of green beans have a string down the side (hence the name string bean) that must be removed. String or puree them to serve as a side dish or make into soup.
Commenting on how early European settlers cooked beans, Debra Friedman said, “A lot of the old-time recipes for baked or boiled beans were very bland. Cooks might have boiled the beans and added some butter or parsley, or baked them with pepper and salt pork. But the type of baked beans with molasses that everybody is so fond of today had yet to appear. Most of the baked beans were a hardy side dish served at breakfast or dinner.”
BEETS
Beta vulgaris
A close relative of chard, beets originated in Europe almost four thousand years ago. The ancient Greeks and Romans enjoyed both red and white beets. Yellow beets were popular for centuries. Early settlers to America appreciated the beet’s keeping qualities and relied on them to provide food in early spring.
How to grow: Sow beet seeds directly in rich, well-drained soil in early spring or in the fall, in full sun. In mild climates beets can be grown most of the year. A soil pH of 7 seems best. Many gardeners agree that beets become sweeter with some chilling as they mature. They can take some frost. Plant the seeds ¼ inch deep in wide rows or broadcast them over a 3-foot-wide bed. Beet seeds are a cluster of seeds; therefore, thinning is essential to prevent crowding. Thin modern beets to 3 inches apart and large keeper beets to 6 inches apart. Fertilize midseason with a balanced organic fertilizer and water evenly.
Occasionally, leaf miners tunnel through the leaves; control them with neem or floating row covers. A more common problem is cercospora, a fungus that thrives in humid conditions and leaves orange spots on the foliage. A rust fungus can also be a problem.
Harvest modern varieties when they are 3 inches or smaller. The large keeper beets (which will grow up to 6 inches across) are planted 90 days before your first expected frost. Mulch them, and they will winter over if temperatures aren’t too cold. In severe climates the roots can be stored for up to four months in damp sand in a root cellar kept just above freezing.
Golden, white, and ‘Chioggia’ red and white beets
‘Burpee’s Golden’ beets
‘Chioggia,’ ‘Golden,’ ‘Bull’s Blood’, and ‘Detroit Dark Red’ beets
Keeper beets ‘Lutz Green Leaf’
Varieties
‘Albina Verduna’ (‘Show White’): 65 days, Dutch heirloom, pure white, large and sweet, used to make white beet sugar
‘Chioggia’: 50 days, Italian heirloom known since the middle of the 1800s in America, red on the outside, white inside with red rings like bull’s-eyes
‘Crosby’s Egyptian’: 50 to 60 days, introduced in 1880, small dark red bunching beet, early beet of choice, has a rather flattened shape
‘Cylindra’ (‘Formanova’): 60 days, 1880s, sweet dark red long cylindrical-shaped beet, good for slicing, keep the top of the root covered with soil while growing
‘Detroit Dark Red’: 60 days, 1892, U.S. heirloom and for years the standard beet of commerce, popular with home gardeners, uniform color and shape
‘Golden Beet’: 60 days, before 1828, European,