2015 Little Easy Bean Network - Old Beans Should Never Die !

[VA_LongBean]

I did some initial research today, looking into the beans from 2014 and 2015. There were links for 20, and I searched Wikipedia for the names of the other 7 or so (mountains, rivers, etc). A lot of them I haven't looked up yet. A few, not many, are very well known varieties. Most are carried by only one source that I could find or are unpublicized landraces. Once I sort what I found and clean it up I will post it here.

Also, there were packages of "sugar beans" for sale at Global Foods when I went there hunting for oddities this evening, but at $8.00 for an enormous bag of beans that I didn't even know how to cook I gave them a miss.

 

[journey11]

I found this version of a Lazy Housewife pole bean that given how long it has been around (1810) could likely be the same. It's stringless, if so. That would be nice. Bill Best has one called Lazy Wife, but it is a large seeded greasy bean, also stringless, but the pods are not anything like the other, rather shorter and plumper. And of course lacking the word "house" in its moniker. I'm glad now I got this bean instead of the other I first wanted. It looks like it could be a good fit for my garden.

Found several hits for Aussie Purple King listed as simply Purple King, but mostly all from seed sellers located in Australia, so hence the "Aussie" part. If it's the same one, it sure is a beautiful plant with dark stems and purple blooms. Said to be an heirloom, one site I read said it may have actually come from Mexico, although it is obviously quite popular in Australia.

So excited for what the 2015 growing season holds. I've got a lot of new beans I can't wait to check out.

 

[aftermidnight]

I was given a few seeds of the true 'Lazy Wife' bean just recently and plan to grow them this year. Apparently the ones being sold commercially are not the true 'Lazy Wife'. This is the information I was given with the bean seed, plus what I have read myself.

"The true Lazy Wife is not available commercially. Named for the fact it was the first-ever stringless pole snap bean (hence a boon to the "lazy' housewife who traditionally did the restringing in Colonial times), the 'Lazy Wife' (aka Lazy Housewife) was introduced by Burpee Seeds in 1888, discovered among a German immigrant farming family in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. After WWII, the bean suffered a series of crop failures and was dropped from the catalog."

"The 'Lazy Wife' bean made a brief appearance in the 1980s through a seed company that quickly ran out of seed and substituted another variety when fulfilling orders. The incorrectly identified variety was propagated and offered to other seed sources, unfortunately, so most (if not all) of the 'Lazy Wife' seed sold today is not the historical variety known for such wonderful flavor."

"Seed of the true 'Lazy Wife' is not kidney shaped like most other beans, but almost round and shiny white like polished marble. Another way to distinguish the true 'Lazy Wife' pole bean is the shape of the pod. It is not long and round like a 'Kentucky Wonder' or long and flat like a pole Romano, but rather it is knuckle shaped and up to 51/2 inches long. In other words, the pods are flat but the seeds swell up to stretch the skin out like a knuckle of a clenched fist."

"Regardless of it's appearance, what sets the 'Lazy Wife' pole bean apart from other snap beans is it's flavor. Just a few minutes of cooking (or Steaming) renders the pods buttery flavored, meaty, and delicious. Moreover, the white, marble-like beans make the best baked beans after the pods turn brittle."

Hopefully I'll have a few seeds to share in the fall if I have a successful growing season.
Annette

 

[Blue-Jay]

I grew the Lazy Wife bean that John Withee had in his Wanigan collection in the early 80's and It wasn't the correct one either as you have described @aftermidnight. It was a white seeded kidney shaped seed.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Hi @the1honeycomb !

We still have beans that have not been asked for. They are the following varieties. Zebra (pole), Star 2052 (bush snap), Prizewinner (pole), Solwezi #63 (pole), Purple Champion (pole), and Ibotyi Umthubi (bush).

 

[Ridgerunner]

I grew Lazy Housewife Red last year. Here are my notes from it. I did not note if they were stringless or not, but relying on memory (a dangerous thing) I think they were stringless.

Lazy Housewife Red #41 – Pods tough as a green bean. When breaking them I thought they would do better since the inside was that clear green I like to see in a green bean. Still very good as a dried bean.

Very vigorous growth. It did not take long for the vines to reach the top of my 12’ high trellis. Definitely a pole bean. Pink blossoms and cream colored blossoms on the same plant. Pods 6” to 8” long, lets call them flat but knobby where the beans were. Some pods were green but most had some red splotches. Dried pods pretty smooth and easy to hull.

 

[aftermidnight]

@Bluejay77 Russ, I just have the 15 seed shown in the picture above, I'll plant half of them keeping the rest as a backup just in case. If successful we'll just have a taste, leave the rest for seed. I'd like to share as much seed as I can, hopefully get these back into circulation, like I attempted to do with the little 'Comtesse de Chambord'.
When I went searching for that tiny rice bean I couldn't find them being sold anywhere in North America but did manage to find a source in France. I'm happy to say it's now available for sale commercially here in Canada ( not the same as that CdeC of yours, parent of your much loved Blue Jay ).
I think there are several strains of CdeC in circulation, the one I have from France, yours, Hal I believe has another and, last year I grew 'Dutchesse de Chambord' from Chiltern in the U.K. There was no noticeable difference between the 'DdeC' and the little French 'CdeC that I could detect.

It looks like we're in for a drought situation this summer , absolutely no snow pack in the mountains around here, not even one flake of snow fell at our place this past winter. We have all the water barrels (5) that have been stored for I don't know how long washed up and set back up to catch rain water, as of today they're full and, I'll keep them topped up with the hose if necessary. I think we will be on severe water restrictions this summer, not going to let my beans suffer, the rest of the garden, well..... I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Annette

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

Thank you Russ. I got your beans in the mail yesterday! That was quick! I'll be planting them in pots this weekend and after Mother's day is when we can plant the garden.

Thanks!

 

[journey11]

I was given a few seeds of the true 'Lazy Wife' bean just recently and plan to grow them this year. Apparently the ones being sold commercially are not the true 'Lazy Wife'. This is the information I was given with the bean seed, plus what I have read myself.

"The true Lazy Wife is not available commercially. Named for the fact it was the first-ever stringless pole snap bean (hence a boon to the "lazy' housewife who traditionally did the restringing in Colonial times), the 'Lazy Wife' (aka Lazy Housewife) was introduced by Burpee Seeds in 1888, discovered among a German immigrant farming family in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. After WWII, the bean suffered a series of crop failures and was dropped from the catalog."

"The 'Lazy Wife' bean made a brief appearance in the 1980s through a seed company that quickly ran out of seed and substituted another variety when fulfilling orders. The incorrectly identified variety was propagated and offered to other seed sources, unfortunately, so most (if not all) of the 'Lazy Wife' seed sold today is not the historical variety known for such wonderful flavor."

"Seed of the true 'Lazy Wife' is not kidney shaped like most other beans, but almost round and shiny white like polished marble. Another way to distinguish the true 'Lazy Wife' pole bean is the shape of the pod. It is not long and round like a 'Kentucky Wonder' or long and flat like a pole Romano, but rather it is knuckle shaped and up to 51/2 inches long. In other words, the pods are flat but the seeds swell up to stretch the skin out like a knuckle of a clenched fist."

"Regardless of it's appearance, what sets the 'Lazy Wife' pole bean apart from other snap beans is it's flavor. Just a few minutes of cooking (or Steaming) renders the pods buttery flavored, meaty, and delicious. Moreover, the white, marble-like beans make the best baked beans after the pods turn brittle."
View attachment 6911
Hopefully I'll have a few seeds to share in the fall if I have a successful growing season.
Annette

I wondered if there was any correlation between the Lazy Wife and Lazy Housewife names. The Lazy Wife bean that Bill Best has knuckles up as you mentioned. I wonder if it is closer to the original. No pic of the seeds though. It has been one on my wishlist for awhile. For $6 a pack, I'd rather hope to pick it up in a trade next fall instead.

 

[aftermidnight]

@journey11 that picture of Bill Best's 'Lazy Wife' looks mouthwatering. I've just grown a couple of greasies in the last few years. It looks like I'll be adding yet another to my want list . I'll post a picture of the 'Lazy Wife' pods later on, hopefully I'll have good germination, to be on the safe side I'll start them in the greenhouse and plant them out when the soil is good and warm. I haven't seen any mention of the one I have as being a Greasy. Time will tell.