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, 110 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.  Early bean grows well in cool soils. Concentrated sets of round 5–5½” pods. Very heavy producer. Purple-brown seed. Excellent for canning, freezing and dilly beans. 

Speedy – 43 days. Extremely early premium European bean bred in Germany. It produces 5.5” round fleshy American style bean 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.

Eilidh’s Eden  [Certified Organic] 55 days, 90 days dry. Delicious European-style flat green bean.  Prolific and dual-purpose as makes a great cooking bean. 

Jade – 56 days. Sweet & tender, early & productive. Mid-size plants are heat tolerant & produce abundant yields of 6 -7” long straight dark green pods with a long picking period & great holding quality.

Lewis – 53 days. Big yields of dark green beans with a crisp, juicy flavour & high eating quality. Perfect for succession planting as produces early concentrated set of 6” beans on upright plant for easy picking.

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.

Painted Pony – 58 days snap, 85 dry. Dual-purpose heirloom bean is an early, prolific producer of long slender tasty green beans for fresh eating & dried beans with a nutty rich flavour for soups & stews. Distinctive white on brown beans with a white eye are originally from Mexico & southern US.      

Antigua 60 days. Great market variety as easy to pick with tall upright plants with an abundance of 5-6” slender flavourful dark green pods.  

Calima – 47 days. Impressive dark green 7” long thin French filet which holds well for extended harvest. True European bean with sweet full bean taste. Strong vigorous upright plants.

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. This French filet produces a crisp, juicy, 5” bean with good flavour. Very productive small beans on small compact plants which holds a long time. Great for containers.

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.

Gold Rush  – 52 days. Tender 5-6” straight round, excellent flavour & high yields. Holds well on vigorous plants. 

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, while the more pods shaded under foliage are more blushed. Holds well & is great tasting. Good cooked as a dry bean, perfect with just a little oil & salt.  Light tan, darker around helium. 

Purple Dove – 60 days. Gorgeous violet-purple beans are very productive & have great taste.

Velour  [Certified Organic] 55 days. This bountiful bean is a real favourite. Beautiful purple filet with 4-5” pods on an upright medium sized plant. Never fails to please!    

Flambo – 75 days shell, 95 days dry. This 7” French horticultural bean was named for its flamboyant colours. The slightly flattened fluorescent pink pods turn to bright mottled purple as they dry. Healthy vigorous plants produce great yields of dual-purpose plump cranberry type beans to eat as fresh or frozen shelled beans, or as a dry bean for soups & stews. Frequent picking improves production.  

Thibodeau du Comte Beauce – New in 2022. 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.

Tongue of Fire – New in 2022. 60 days snap, 75 days shell, 95 days dry. Also called ‘Barlotto Cranberry’, this dwarf bush bean produces straight stringless flattened red-striped pods up to 8” long. The pods can be picked young as a snap bean or allowed to mature & eaten as a cooked shell bean. Seeds are ivory with red specks. Dry beans have a wonderful creamy flavour in soups & stews. Abundant producer.

Agate Pinto  – 102 days Bush pinto (will send out some runners) with medium sized mottled beans of rich spicy flavour. This quick cooking bean for Mexican cuisine, stews & soups is a slightly flattened tan bean with darker lines & splotches.

Danny Crossman – New this year, limited quantity. 80 days. This delicious ochre coloured baking bean is a local Summerside family  heirloom. It dries down easily & this is a sure winner for your winter chilies & stews.

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

Goose Gullet – 120 days. A true Acadian legend. In 1775, Acadians deported from the Bay of Fundy purposely grounded their ships along the shores of Clare County & survivors hid deep in the woods, living with the Mi’kmaq,  Acadians found this bean in the gullet of a downed goose, then saved & planted the seed next spring. This plump maroon & tan seed has been grown by locals ever since.   15 seeds/pkt.

Gysi – 80 days.  Early and productive, medium-sized ochre flat bean. Originally from Werner Gysi of Enderby, BC.

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.

Jacob’s Cattle  90 days dry. Popular New England heirloom may have originated with Native Americans in the Southwest, but likely developed in Virginia by Jacob Trout. Beautiful, distinctive large kidney shaped beans with dark red speckles on white background.  Can be harvested early when beans are fat in the pod for superb tasty shellies. Excellent for baked beans, refried beans & soups.

Light Red Kidney 90 days dry. 90 days dry. Nice quality cooking bean with thin, shiny skin that stays firm when cooked, but with a creamy texture & mild flavour. Perfect for chili & bean salads recipes. Easy to grow & to harvest on medium sized plants with a high yield. Adapted to wet, cool climates.  

Littlefield’s Special – 90-95 days. Rare dry bean for short growing seasons. Grows in most conditions & produces good yields of kidney shaped white beans that are splashed with black. Rich taste makes it good for soups & stews.  25 seeds/pkt.    

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.  

Nora’s Baudette Baking Bean – 105 days dry. Heirloom from Yugoslavia which came to US in 1900’s. Yields plump white seeds with red uneven splotch around helium. Great for baking.  

Orca  70-80 dry.  Very early beautiful bean, good as an early snap, but best for baking. Doubles in size when cooked.

Pinta – 85 days dry. Early large dry bean with red swirls widely grown in mountains of Spain. Dries down well. Trial from Seeds of Diversity

Reade Krobbe (Krupke)  [Certified Organic] 105 days. This extremely rare ‘little red bean’ is from the Dutch Seed bank, another gift from Dan Jason of Salt Spring Seeds. It is grown by a handful of farmers in the northern parts of the Frisian forests of the Netherlands & western Germany. This is a hearty bean that can withstand cold, wet & windy weather. It is a small red bean with golden spots with a surprisingly spicy flavour & high antioxidants & can also be eaten as a young snap bean. It has a long history among people of the local countryside who did hard physical labour. It needs a good long soak before cooking (8-12 hours), but well worth the wait!

Shirolustruca Kovina   [Certified Organic] 95 days dry. This Russian heirloom is very rare. Vigorous plants are 24” & will tolerate poor soils. The seeds are a cool metallic Dijon colour with a brown ring at the eye, borne in 5” green pods. These beans are best dried & are wonderful in soups.  

Shuswap Red – New this year, limited quantities. red beans on sturdy, productive bushes which are quick to establish & among the first beans to dry down in the field.   

Vermont Cranberry – 85 days. Beautiful heirloom bean, 6” long with bright red-mottled pods which are borne on large upright plants. This old-time Northern New England variety can also be grown for shell beans. The dry beans are beauties: plump, oval, medium-sized, red & pink streaked with a mild flavour, great for soups & baking.     

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.

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, Jacob’s Cattle, Shirolustruca Kovina, Tongue of Fire & Vermont Cranberry.  

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.  

Neckargold  – 60 days. Long 10” oval German oval yellow pole bean, bearing a heavy crop of deep-yellow pods with great taste.  25 seeds/pkt.

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.

Robin’s Egg  70-80 days. Snap or dry.  Tender deep purple flavoursome beans are high yielding with beautiful purple flowers.  

Coco de Boheme 105 days dry. Very rare variety shared with me from Dan Jason of Salt Spring Seeds. One of the most beautiful seeds we have ever seen, half white, half beige seeds with red streaks. Can be grown on a trellis or left to sprawl on the ground. Dries down extremely well.

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.