Black Valentine – 55 days, 90 to dry. This old heirloom (pre-1850) is early & cold tolerant, withstanding adverse conditions & producing masses of straight, tender, delicious, 6” long green beans. Dual purpose as makes a good black dry bean for soups & stews.

Blue Jay – 60 snap, 90 dry. 60 snap, 90 dry. This beautiful rare heirloom bean is navy blue with beige markings – blue jay colours! It was nearly lost, but found and brought back into production by Bob Wildfong of Seeds of Diversity. This dual-purpose green bean is excellent eaten in the snap stage and also makes a great dry bean. Prolific in cool conditions.

Canadian Wonder – 60 days, 95 dry. French Canadian heirloom that is extremely popular in Europe but has almost disappeared from its native land. Earliest documentation is 1873, but believed to be older than that. Growth is dwarf & compact, producing abundant quantities of 12-16” pods which are tender, delicate in flavour & a beautiful shape. Triple purpose as good as a string bean as well as a fresh shell bean (cook like a lima), plus the red kidney shape beans are delicious in chili & stews. Does well in cold wet conditions.

Provider – 60 days. Introduced by Dr. Hoffman of SC in 1965.  This early reliable bean grows well in cool soils & always lives up to its name! Heavy producer of round 5–5½” pods. Excellent dual-purpose for canning, freezing and dilly beans. 

Speedy – 43 days. Extremely early premium European bean bred in Germany. It produces 5.5” round fleshy beans with great taste. Especially bred for first seeding in cool temps & short day conditions in tunnels. Upright strong mid-size plant is disease resistant.

Drew’s Dandy – 55 days snap, 90 dry.  Dual-purpose heirloom from Carrot River, Sask. Green flat pods tasty when young. Flat white seed for soup or baked beans. For short season areas. Trial from Seeds of Diversity.

Martini – Improved Dutch Bean. Erect plant with prolific concentrated seed set. Pods are 5” medium-dark green, round, straight & smooth with slow seed development. Yields more over a few pickings than other varieties.

Delinel – 45 days. Early French filet snap with excellent taste & holding quality. Highly productive 6-7” slender long pods hat can be picked at ¼” for filet. Multi disease resistant. Specialty market.

Masai – 58 days. French filet which holds a long time. Pick every other day. 5” long, juicy, crisp, good flavour. Very productive small beans on small compact plants. White seed.

Mascotte – 52 days. Perfect compact patio bean for containers, as bred in France specifically to show off in Parisian window boxes! Everbearing plants produce loads of thin 5-6” beans set above the plant for easy picking. Good sweet taste & excellent for whole bean cooking.

Custard – 55 days, 100 dry. Improved Gold Dust. Great performer of beautiful bright yellow pods that are full right to the tip. Easy to pick on upright plants with long harvest. Delicious.

Gaucho – Dual-purpose bush bean of Argentinian origin. Delicious as a fresh wax bean & cooked dry bean. Beautiful tan/gold colour. Matures early.

Rocdor – 54 days. Extra fancy rich yellow bean from Europe with a better bean taste. Produces long slender oval-round 6-7” pods, on upright plants, that keeps bearing when picked regularly.

Borsalino – 60 days. Gourmet yellow 4” long straight filet bean on upright plant produces a heavy set of bright yellow beans which are easy to pick with good yields & good flavour. Small white seed.

Concador Yellow – 60 days. Yellow filet bean 5” long is very productive & holds well on vine. Medium sized plant, with good disease resistant. Tiny white seed.

Valdor – 56 days. Exceptionally tender petite 5” round French yellow filet bean which just keeps on going. White seed.

Red Swan – 58 days. Pretty, 5” long flat pods are a dusty rose colour. This bean was developed by the late Robert Lobitz (1941 – 2006) by crossing a pinto & purple snap bean. 

Tanya’s Pink Pod – 50 days, 85-90 dry. Excellent low-growing bush bean with large, flat pods are unusual iridescent pink colour. The pods develop more deeply pink shades in direct sun. Holds well & is great tasting. Good cooked as a dry bean, perfect with just a little oil & salt.  Light tan, darker around helium. 

Thibodeau du Comte Beauce – 45 days snap, 70 dry. An exceptionally early heirloom bush bean from Beauce County, Quebec. Delicious straight green pods with purple red stripes & the flowers are a deep rosy-pink. One of the most productive dry bush beans as it dries down even in cool conditions. Makes a good snap bean when young. White seeds with maroon stripes & spots.

Heritage Bean Mix: Interested in growing your own dry beans for winter use? Why not sample 5 different heirloom varieties from one packet and choose your favourites? This year we include Agate Pinto, Vermont Cranberry, Weiner Treib, Ugandan Bantu, Xico  

Anasazi  – 95 dry. Navajo word meaning ‘The Ancient Ones’, referring to a people predating the Navajo. Also called Aztec Cave Bean & New Mexico Cave Bean (as found in a sealed clay pot in a cave in New Mexico).  

Healthy prolific plant yields 6-7” flat snap beans. Can be steamed fresh, but needs to be stringed. Best cooked as a dry bean. Beautiful seeds, easy to digest, unusually sweet flavour. Dries down easily.

Gold Jacob’s Cattle – 85 days dry. A beautiful golden splashed strain of the classic maroon Jacob’s Cattle. Early, dependable & dries down easily. 

Ireland Creek Annie 90 days dry. Originally introduced into Canada in 1920’s. Very early, for cool season & disease resistant. Mustard coloured beans have a fine flavour & make their own thick sauce.

Maine Sunset 80 days. Beautiful ruby & gold swirls with a white background on plump, oval beans. Dries down quickly, very easy for hand threshing. White with maroon near helium end.  

Spanish Pinta – 85 days dry. Tasty large early dry bean for short growing season widely grown in mountains of Spain. Germinates in cool soils & dries down well. Seeds are pinkish tan with maroon swirls.

Weiner Treib – 75 days. Exceptionally rich flavour with a meaty texture making these beans excellent baked or in soups, stews & chillies. Beautiful seed of white & speckled gold. Dry beans are ready in 75 days , very early & easy to pick on 24” plant.  

Ugandan Bantu  –  80 days dry. A beautiful mix of jade or pinkish/purple small vibrant egg-shaped beans. A rich & satisfying cooking bean with prolific production & early maturity. 25 seeds/pkt

Xico – 85 days dry. early dry bush bean from the market of a small town called Xico in the Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico. Trial from Seeds of Diversity.

Marvel of Venice   [Certified Organic] 54 days snap. This Italian heirloom is one of the finest yellow climbing Romano beans. Famous for its large, tender 8-9” flat pods borne on vigorous 7′ vines. This bean is not only a beautiful specimen in the garden until frost, but a delicious addition to your plate with an exceptional sweet buttery flavour.  

Annie Jackson – 95-100 days dry. Beautiful vigorous Russian pole bean originally brought to Southern Manitoba by Annie Jackson, where her son has kept it alive since. The cream-coloured pods dry down quickly for dry bean harvest. Beans are half burgundy and half white. Excellent baking bean. Can be eaten fresh or dried.  25 seeds/pkt.

Rattlesnake Snap ( Preacher’s Bean) – 70 days. Ancient heirlooms originating with the Hopi Indians in the south-western US. Vigorous vines bear 7” round green purple-streaked pods containing buff-coloured seeds splashed with a dark brown stripe. They grow to 10’ & are stringless when eaten young. Steamed snaps have a clean, crisp, sweet full flavour, and a meaty texture when shelled & cooked. Use dry for baked beans & freezes well. Small red bean, black marks.

Joseph Dugas  70 days snap, 110 dry. The ‘Scarlet Runner’ of Baie Sainte-Marie is named after the early Acadian settler Joseph Dugas. These beautiful large purple & black beans were traditionally grown for their versatility & reliability. This strain of runner beans exists due to the work & dedication of local gardeners & farmers who have continually maintained this historical variety. Plant on a sturdy trellis and harvest young beans for continued harvest. Green snap, shell or dry. 15 seeds/pkt.