Weedwhacker's blog: BEANS

8/11/2015: I have quite a few different varieties of beans growing in my 2015 garden, some from the Piggy Seed Swap last fall and some that I bought to try (almost all are old heirloom types). I have only a few plants of most of them, just to multiply the seed that I started with and to make sure I have fresh seed; the bean seeds stay viable for quite a few years, so next year I won't have to grow them all out again.

One that I got in the seed swap was just labeled "Cranberry," and it wasn't one I requested but a "gift packet," so I don't know who it actually came from. I wasn't really aware that there are actually many different beans called "Cranberry," some pole types, some bush types, but the vast majority are most suitable for using as green shell beans or dry beans (not snap beans). So I was surprised to find, while checking through the plants yesterday, that the pods on my "Cranberry" beans are slender, flat, tender and very tasty (raw, at least; I pulled one off to try it). Also, most varieties have pods that are streaked with red, and these are just a solid medium green color.

*Update 8/21/15: Some of the pods are starting to "mature" and are now a yellowish color with red streaks.

I'm hoping I can unravel some of the history of the "cranberry beans" -- why are there so many different beans that go by that name, and what is this that I'm actually growing?

Victory Seeds sells a variety called Gross Brother's Vermont Cranberry http://www.victoryseeds.com/be...
Their photos certainly look like the beans that I have, although the seeds I started with weren't as brightly colored or as distinctly marked.

My seeds:


Victory Seeds also lists "Cranberry Bush Bean, Dry" (although there is no photo of the pods), as well as the bean "Tongue of Fire" comes up with a search for cranberry beans.

Russ Crow ("A Bean Collector's Window") says this about the Gross Brothers Vermont Cranberry: "Bush/Dry/Snap. About 65 days for snaps and 90 days to first dry beans. A Vermont woman rescued these beans from an old gardener who had passed away and had grown these beans for many years in the Cold Hollow mountain region near Enosburgh, Vermont. I obtained this variety from Victory Seeds in Molalla, Oregon."

An older description of the Gross Brothers Vermont Cranberry bean, quoted on "TheExtremeGardener" blog ( http://theextremegardener.good... ), says:
"65 to 85 days — An heirloom variety that was sent to us several years back by a gardening friend. She rescued it from an older gardener who has since passed away but who had grown it for many years in the short gardening season of the Cold Hollow Mountain region near Enosburgh, Vermont. Introduced commercial by us in 2007. We have been growing out limited quantities and are making them available to home gardeners. The seeds are buff and heavily mottled with cranberry coloring. They are used as green beans when young or dried. There are four to five seeds per five inch pod. The plants are upright and do not require support."

She comments that the photos in the Victory Seeds catalog appear to be the same plant as what she had been searching for and what she knew as the "Johnson Bean," which she believes referred to the town of Johnson, VT. She also concluded that "...the terms “cranberry” and “Vermont cranberry” were liberally applied to nearly any old horticultural-type bean – or should I say any bean with horticultural-type markings… and there were and are lots of them. "
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Vermont Bean Seed Company lists "Krimson" and "Etna Bush Shell Bean" as cranberry beans.

Fedco Seeds lists "True Red Cranberry Pole" and "Vermont Cranberry"

Amishland Seeds sells "True Red Cranberry Pole" with this description: "This is the rare heirloom bean that was rediscovered by celebrated bean collector, John Withee. He searched for 11 years for this bean after reading about a "Red Cranberry" bean in a 1700's gardening encyclopedia. He finally discovered it growing on a Mr. Taylor's farm in Steep Falls, Maine. These beans are fat and shiny and a wondrous deep cranberry red color that does not show up well in photos. These beans really do look like real cranberries, only a bit darker red in color. These are probably one of America's oldest bean varieties, probably of Native American origin . True Red Cranberry beans grow on stocky, shortish 6 foot vines and can take the cold and short growing seasons better than any other bean I have grown. They have a rich flavor unlike any other bean I have tasted They are one of my personal favorites not only for beauty but for taste."

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Limelight beans:

Description of Limelight on Fedco site:
Limelight Dry Bean (60 days shell, 85 days dry) A versatile variety, excellent both as a shell and a dry bean. Compact plants set light green to white seeds similar in shape, color and taste to baby limas, except much easier to grow in our climate and sweeter with a buttery texture. Developed in Alberta, Canada.

Description on Heritage Harvest Seeds (Canadian):
Limelight 1968
Developed at the Lethbridge Research Station and released in 1968. A selection of "Princess of Artois" with larger seeds and pods. The beans are used in the green shell stage and have a flavor and appearance similar to Lima Beans. Limelight did very well for me and was very productive with no signs of disease. Seeds are an ivory white color when dry. This variety was once carried by seed companies but has now become EXTREMELY RARE.
Type: Bush
Days to Maturity: 70-80 days for dry beans

Green Limelight (seeds have a green coloration): http://pubs.aic.ca/doi/pdf/10....

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Flageolet beans: My interest in this has been piqued because SSE has a bean called Cheverbel listed as a "stewardship opportunity." It is being discontinued from the Heritage Farm collection because of lack of history in the US.

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http://www.loverofcreatingflav... This page has this information about Flageolet beans:

“The Caviar of Beans”, flageolet are also known under numerous cultivar names, such as Chevrier, (which is the original heirloom bean), Elsa, Flambeau, Flamingo, Chelinex, Cheverbel, Chevrinor, Flagrano, Roi des Verts, Vernel, and so on. Flageolet beans are so popular in Australia, one of the principal growers, alongside California, that they have their own varieties. The biggest producers of flageolet beans are Brazil, India and China. Flageolet beans plump up when cooked, and have a mild flavour and creamy texture that goes well with traditional Cassoulets and is a very popular accompaniment to lamb. The best flageolet are harvested when they are still very young and tender.
The dried varieties are usually dried whilst still in the pod after picking, then shelled when the pod is dry. An excellent bean for use in any recipe requiring legumes, flageolet beans have a creamy texture but resist falling apart when cooked. They really are the perfect bean! The flageolet is actually a variety of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and is small, light green, and kidney-shaped.
These beans, which have a very tender skin, are actually small, young haricot beans that have been harvested and dried before they are fully ripe. The bean is removed from the pod when tender and just maturing. In America, this bean, which originated in France in the 1800’s, is mainly grown in the fertile soil of California. The pod of the Flageolet is inedible. Although the original flageolet beans are a pale green, there are now many varieties in other colours: black, white, red, or yellow. Flageolet do not require soaking and cook relatively quickly, even the dried beans require only a little longer to cook without soaking first. Flageolet beans can be served on their own merit with lamb, chicken and fish.
Bonduelle is the biggest producer of canned flageolet in France and according to their website flageolet belongs to the same family as the broad bean, lentil and chickpea. It is a herbaceous annual plant, with trifoliate leaves, which grows in temperate/hot climates, and comes in varying sizes. Climbing varieties, with twining stems, can grow up to several metres high. The flowers, grow in bunches and the fruit are pods opening into two valves. Flageolet beans in cans and frozen are always prepared using fresh, green seeds of certain varieties of beans, which are harvested in September and October. Flageolet beans are high in energy because they contain all the reserves necessary to the future plant during its germination. It is rich in carbohydrates, fibre and vitamin B9."

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Another long article here: http://www.plantnames.unimelb....

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Johnny's Seeds sells Flagrano.
Nichols Garden Nursery sells "French Flageolet Bush Bean"
SSE catalog has "Green Flageolet"
SSE has one member w/ "Flambeau"

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From: http://vegetablesofinterest.ty...

"The Flageolet bean had its beginnings in France in the early 1800s. The French were making refinements in dwarf bean types that had first appeared in England. These early Flageolets were red, white or black but their tastes were described as similar. In 1878, however, a farmer near Paris named Gabriel Chevrier introduced something entirely new. His bean was light green in color with a smallish squared shape. And most importantly the Chevrier bean had a wonderful light, fresh taste. It was an immediate sensation with fine French chefs.

Today the Flageolet bean remains a ‘classic’ in a number of French dishes and it is considered a bean of “refinement.” The original Chevrier bean, however, has largely been replaced by ‘improvements’ such as Flavert, Soissons Vert and Triomphe des Chasiss. In America any flageolet bean is difficult to find and the most common strain is the oddly named “Flagrano.” These new introductions have disease resistance that Chevrier lacks and they tend not to display Chevrier’s tiresome habit of falling over. Still, a few gardeners with supple spines and a sanguine outlook about occasional crop failures have kept the original Chevrier Vert in private circulation.

I have grown both Flagrano and the Chevrier Flageolet bean. Neither seemed particularly keen to grow or produce well in my Northern California garden. My guess is that they would prefer a cooler summer climate, better soil and more water. So would I.

Flageolet beans are typically used as a dry bean but for a short time in August they can be found in France as a “semi-dry” or “shelly bean.” I’ve read that the old time French farming technique to produce them is to pull up the entire bean plant when the pods are filled. When the pods are slightly wrinkled they are ready to be shelled. The technique sounds credible since it is the same used in Appalachia to made “shucky beans.”"

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http://www.tierravegetables.co...
"Flageolet
Origin: Pronounced fla-jo-LAY. Flageolets were first developed by Gabriel Chevrier in Brittany, France, in 1872 and were noted as a favorite of the famous French chef Auguste Escoffie. Flageolets have always been associated with elegant cooking. It became especially famous at the International Paris Exposition in 1878 and chefs of Paris were quick to incorporate the new ingredient.
Cooking: Flageolets have a delicate, thin skin so should be cooked slowly and gently until tender. The reward for this gentle cooking is a spectacularly creamy texture. This is a great ingredient for light, sophisticated recipes. The beans are often paired with lamb and look beautiful when served with leeks in the winter.
Growing: Flageolets are a bush bean. The dry bean seeds may dry green (referred to as vert) rather than white. They are also often harvested as a fresh shelling bean."
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http://www.specialtyproduce.co...
Current Facts:
The Flageolet Shelling bean is an heirloom bush bean variety and members of the Phaseolus vulgaris genus, the most widely cultivated genre of beans in the world. The original cultivar of Flageolet beans (Soisson Vert à Rames) is only available to a few select growers in the world, of which, one is Seed Savers Exchange within the United States. Flageolet beans are also known to show up in other colors including yellow, black, red and white. The Flageolet Shelling beans are also their seeds. Seeds left on the plant or harvested to dry can be saved and sown for future crops.

Description/Taste:
Produced in an inedible pod, Flageolet Shelling beans are distinguished by their small, kidney-shaped beans and pale lime green coloring. Their attractive pale green color is unique to their species and their size is notably dwarf. When picked young, fresh and semi-dry they are at their most optimal eating state. The Flageolet Shelling beans are creamy and firm in texture, nutty, sweet and mellow in flavor.

Applications:
Although Flageolets are often harvested as a fresh bean, dried Flageolets make a great soup or puree. These beans, unlike other shelling beans do not typically require soaking. Cook them low and slow and their texture will continue to get buttery, making for a sweet, rich brothy and creamy soup or puree. Cooking times will be shorter as soaking is not required. Complimentary pairings include bacon, ham, corn, chiles, tomatoes, chicken, cumin. garlic, oregano, stewed pork, cooked eggs, cream, herbs such as cilantro, arugula, mint and basil, melting and fresh cheeses, light-bodied vinegars, feta, citrus, pea tendrils, roasted fish and beef, bitter and mild greens, butter and olive oil.

Geography/History:
The Flageolet bean is both rare (endangered heirloom status) and famous! Its notoriety began briefly after its cultivation in 1872, as it was introduced at the International Paris Exposition in 1878. It became a favorite of the legendary chef, Escoffie, his validation brought the Flageolet elite status that has nearly unwavered in over 100 years. Flageoet Shelling beans are best suited for arid and coastal Mediterranean climates with rich organic soil and warm to hot summers. They are grown throughout temperate Europe and North America.

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https://worcesterallotment.wor...
info on this site includes:

Know your Flageolet bean – Varieties:
The bean is available in a variety of colours including white (flageolet blanc), black (noir), yellow (jaune), red (rouge) or green (vert).
Flageolet bean varieties include:
Chevrier (the original heirloom)
Elsa
Flambeau
Flamingo
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https://www.frenchgardening.co...
sells Chevrier and Red Flageolet (aka "Cock's Kidney")
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SSE has the following:
Flageolet, French
Flageolet
Flageolet Noir
Flageolet Rouge
Flageolet Black
Brita's Foot Long
Flambeau

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http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bi...
(this is a USDA site that provides "germplasm" for research and education)
They list the following varieties of flageolet beans:
Pleurs
Triomphe des Chassis
Chevier
Blanc du Nord
Blanc de Vitry
Blanc a Longue Cosse
Roi des Verts
Flageolet bush dry bean
Merveille
Amarillo
Flageolet
Flageolet Vert
G478A (Roi des Verts)

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