Tags: Open Pollinated

Growing Practices: No Pesticides No Herbicides No Fungicides No Synthetic Fertilizers

Latin Name: Phaseolus vulgaris

Days to Maturity: 54-77

Description:

This bean produces pods that are intended to be picked after they get lumpy and seeds are very plump. After strings are removed and they are snapped into pieces, the entire pods are cooked slowly for 30 - 45 minutes until they become extremely tender with a rich, meaty flavor. A delicious old-time specialty of southern Appalachia.

This variety is a "grex" which refers to a mix of different bean genetics being grown together. It is actually an unfinished breeding project that I began by crossing together 5 great heirloom varieties to find new combinations between them. I selected the 25 best plants out of 80 F2 generation seeds to create the F3 grex. The following year, I planted 200 ft of F3 plants and combined all the seeds to make the F4 bulk, as it's called in breeding terms. I'm looking for a 'half-runner' style vine length that is easy to trellis, earliness, and exceptional pod quality and flavor. All the parents in this grex produce pods that stay perfectly tender when full of plump seeds. This is the defining characteristic of old-fashioned string beans, allowing them to develop meaty flavor and protein that tastes completely different than modern green beans.

These can be grown like any other pole bean and seeds from the best plants saved for the next season. After several years, the genetics will stabilize due to beans' natural self-pollination trait. At this point, you can continue to grow the seeds together as a grex or separate them into separate varieties that will breed true. Parents are: 'Humphrey Cut-short', 'Coal Camp', 'Mountaineer Half-runner', 'Turkey Craw', and 'Ground Squirrel'. By selecting the plants that grow best in your own climate, you can tailor the varieties to perform better than other beans might. Pod lengths range from 4 to 6.5 inches and days to harvest ranges from 54 to 77 days. Seed color includes white, black, brown, speckled, and striped. Some cut-short seeds that are nearly square are present.

I've named this 'Flanagan Grex' in honor of Betty Flanagan who has stewarded many of these varieties for years in Randolph County, WV. Seeds produced in Morgantown, WV. F3 grex germination 78% 1-21-2023. F4 bulk germination 85% 12-11-2023.

If you don't know which seed option to choose, keep in mind that F3 seeds may have a little more variability than F4 but the F4 have had an extra season to adapt to mid-Atlantic organic growing conditions!