2024 Little Easy Bean Network - Growing Heirloom Beans Of Today And Tomorrow

[Blue-Jay]

Monachine - Pole, Snap, Dry. Photo Left. Monachine beans can be eaten fresh or dried. Fresh, they are stringless and yellow-green. The bean is an heirloom from Italy that was brought to the U.S. Pacific Northwest by Angelo Pellegrini, an English professor and culinary expert at the University of Washington. Pellegrini received the beans from his friend, winemaker Robert Mondavi, in the 1950s. Pellegrini named the bean "monachine," which means "little nuns" in Italian, because the white caps of the nuns resembled the beans. This years grower is from DeSoto, Wisconsin

Norridgewock - Pole Dry. Photo Right. An Abenaki heritage bean with a notable history from pre-Civil War times. Good eaten fresh and tender. The Norridgewock bean comes from an Abenaki village that was destroyed by a British attack in 1724. The bean was cultivated by European American families in the region. This years grower is from Hallowell, Maine.


Monachine...............................................................Norridgewock

 

[Blue-Jay]

Old Joe Clark - Left Photo. Also known as Pink Half-Runner and Red Peanut Bean, Old Joe Clark is an heirloom bean that produces early crops of 3 to 4-inch pods that mature from green to a unique fuchsia color. Traditionally used as a snap bean with a unique, somewhat nutty flavor as well as a dry bean when left on the vine to mature. Semi-runner plants will grow to four feet if given support. This years grower is from Freiburg, Germany.


Old Time Golden Stick - Appalachian heirloom that produces very early yields of beautiful pink pods. Semi Runner. Productive plants. Early maturity. Old variety, short fat pod with golden tan colored seed. This years grower is from Mason, Michigan.


Old Joe Clark.........................................................Old Time Golden Stick