Thanks to the generosity of Debbie at Bryson Farm Supply we got to try several old heirloom varieties this year in the garden.
While we were excited about them all, there were a couple that stood out above the rest for me. Truthfully, the only reason they did was due to the beauty of the actual seed.
The bean in the photo above is one of them.
Over the years Debbie and her husband collected seeds from anyone who brought them in. They grew a few themselves and shared them with other folks like us who are interested in preserving the old heirlooms.
Before her husband died he was the person who kept track of the seeds and the information that went with them. Like often happens with us humans, he never fully got all the information he carried around in his head down on paper before he passed unexpectedly.
The information with the bean above was “Mystery bean, Cherokee Reservation.”
I immediately liked it because the color of the bean reminded me of a paint horse. Through the summer The Deer Hunter and I both called it the paint bean.
It was a much slower growing bean. Although we planted it on the same day we did most of the other beans it took almost all summer to begin bearing.
Since the production was slower and less than some of the other beans, we decided to leave it on the vine to dry so that we could save all the seeds instead of trying to eat them. There was one other reason behind leaving them.
Remember I said the main reason I liked the bean was for it’s beautiful color. When the first pods begin to thicken I opened one hoping to see the same paint like marking on the bean, only it wasn’t there.
It took me a minute to realize the mark was there, it just wasn’t as pronounced since the bean wasn’t dried. My desire to see that beautiful bean was another reason we decided to let them dry on the vine.
As the pods begin to dry they become as pretty as the bean with a mottled red color covering the once green hulls.
We will certainly have enough seed to plant more of them next year. I’m already wondering how the beans will do. Realistically I know if they don’t produce as well as some of the other heirloom varieties we shouldn’t fool with planting them in the future, but my the pretty little bean and the fact that it was labeled mystery bean from Cherokee sure makes me want to keep planting it.
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I just became acquainted with your blog and You Tube channel. I enjoy you showing life in Appalachia. I was born and raised in Johnson County Kentucky. I have lived most of my life in the coal camp of Van Lear. So many of the words you use, the food you cook, and the way you live are so much the same as me. I love being from Appalachia. I feel I was truly blessed to have grown up and raised a family here. I have made your 14 day pickles and pepper jelly for the first time this year and must say I love them. Keep writing and recording, it is such a joy to read and watch. Your new subscriber, Melinda Music
That’s a beautiful and colorful bean. I have never seen any like those. One of the most delicious bean I have ever ate was daughter of a woman I use to take care of, they were passed down from generations. They are a pole bean but aw my they are truly one of my favorites. It’s ( Old Myers Bean) .
I found some beans in a little container in my garden shelf this spring that I had totally forgotten about. They were given to me by my grandmother (who passed in 2009) so the beans are pretty old. They called them “Goose” beans and they were traded around with her neighbors during the 1980’s and 1990’s in a little place called White Gate Virginia. They were so named because the legend was they were found in the craw of a goose! I remember them being beautiful and very tasty. Grandpa let them grow up his corn. So… I figured I would just plant them and see what happened and they grew!!! I did not eat any of them and let them all dry. Maybe next year I will eat just a mess and dry more so I can keep this legend going!
Tipper, I knew I saw something similar to your mystery bean. It was on the http://www.hosstools.com website. It was named “Tongues of Fire Bean”. They also have a pretty long description of this bean and if I remember correctly, said it was similar in taste to a kidney bean. It may not be the same bean.
first time I ever seen a bean like that you encourage me to want to plant stuff I wish I lived closer to you all
My husband, Robin, drove by Bryson Farm Supply and they are apparently permanently closed…I guess due to the road expansion going through there..????. Please advise if you know if they will obtain another location because I was already looking forward to going there next spring for seeds!
Have a blessed day!
Wendi-The road is going to take the store. Such a sad loss for the area. But they will be open until October 31. You might call for more details 🙂
Now that’s a beautiful bean. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen this variety and the markings on the pod are lovely. I wonder if they would be about the size of a pinto when cooked? I bet they are delicious. Thanks for sharing. Tell those sweet twins Happy Birthday even if it’s a day late. I do hope they had a wonderful one and many more to come.
Tipper, you might inquire at the Cherokee Indian Reservation. They have a rich history, including a museum there in Cherokee, NC. If I were trying to research this I would call the museum and ask who there is interested in the horticultural practices of the tribe. Most likely there is someone who knows the history of the bean in Cherokee foodways. It’s worth a phone call. I always enjoy your videos, and Blind Pig is second of the things I look at on my computer each morning. God Bless you all but especially Granny, that she find treatment that will help.
It is a pretty bean and I hope they taste as good as they look. You will have to let us know when you cook a few up. Thank you for sharing the story behind the bean that you about so far. Hopefully in the future you will find someone that knows the exact history of the bean. I wonder if any of these new plant apps on phones that one uses to find out what plants are by taking a picture of it, then the app searches it’s database to find a match, then gives you the plant information. I don’t have one on my phone, but a lady at church did and it was very impressive. Might want to check into it, can’t hurt to see if the app would be of use or not to you.
Ask one of the Eastern Band Cherokee… you are close to the reservation there. We love to talk about our heritage as well. Just call and ask where to send a text and screenshot and I’m sure you’ll get someone to look into it for you.
Thank you, Tipper and family. I have so enjoyed receiving these emails from you. They are full of encouragement and like a wonderful friend greeting us good morning. I look so forward to reading them. Such a treasure. Thank you for investing us in. We know the effort and energy and even sacrifice sometimes for all of y’all to manage your jobs so well and we want to say we are truly grateful for every ounce of it.
Y
Those beans are beautiful. I’m looking forward to cooking some dried field peas myself .
As a fellow North Carolinian, not too far down the road near Charlotte, not sure if we will ever have the joy of meeting but in the mean time we thoroughly enjoy hearing from the NC mountains of Appalachia and comparing our weather and traditions.
Praying for God to grant Granny the full measure of her days with joy and purpose.
Waiting with y’all to become unfed again!!
CC
Your Mystery Bean is indeed beautiful. Thank you for sharing the story and the photo of it. Thank you as well for sharing a little of the story of Debbie and her husband. The loveliness within this post is an encouragement to me today. Thank you!
Those look similar to horticulture beans with the pouchy hulls and the light coloring of the bean itself. We always had horticulture beans in our West KY gardens and they matured the last of September. I am setting seeds for tomatoes this week – S. FL we plant now.
Such a beautiful bean. It’s gotta be good if it came from the reservation. In one your videos you did write the word “paint” to remember!!
Today I’m thankful to God for letting me have another 78 trips around the sun with good health, wonderful family and friends. I have been blessed beyond measure.
Everyone get out and enjoy this beautiful day!
Kinda makes me think of the Cranberry Bean as far as the pod goes.
I, too, have a mystery bean! I am finding more!
The most precious seeds I have are two bean varieties that came from my great-grandfather’s homeplace. One looks very similar to the one in the picture, except the pods are bigger and the beans come out of the pod with mottled pink or purple markings; some variety of October bean, I guess, but my great-aunt only ever called them “Texie beans” because she got them from a woman named Texie. The other is a green bean, a runner type, that she calls a corn bean. I’m guessing it was planted with the corn so that it could climb the stalks. Both are delicious.
I’ve seen them before but can’t remember where. You didn’t mention how they taste. I’d really like to know.
Debbie-we haven’t eaten them yet 🙂
We call those October beans. I love them more than pintos and that’s saying a lot!
We call these Cranberry Beans in Appalachia, Ohio. They are quite pretty, and have a nice flavor.
is it , tongue of fire? Bean?
Norman-I don’t know 🙂
can you eat the hull of that bean?too strange for me, God bless Granny Louzine Wilson with healing and health and love care and protection in Jesus name
Norman-yes you can 🙂
I believe you have the CRANBERRY BORLOTTO BEAN OR TONGUE OF FIRE HEIRLOOM SEED ORIGINALLY FROM ITALY. I know I’ve seen those beans many times before, and as we have quite a large Italian population that came from Italy in the early 1900’s here in my community, I’m pretty certain those beans came from Italy. If I’m wrong, it won’t be the first time. Lol. Tipper, I have become a real bean fanatic (thanks to you) and I want to see the beauty in EVERY SINGLE CREATED plant. I like the name painted bean for the Borlotto because it is a beautiful crimson intermingled in the green and the bean should have crimson too. Isn’t God the Creator truly magnificent in all HE does, thinks and touches!? Prayers to the usual suspects and anyone of us Blind Pigs here who might be struggling in any area of our lives! I know a place to lay those burdens and troubles down and get refreshed in the Holy Presence of the Lord Jesus.
The pod looks very much like the Vermont Cranberry bean. Not sure if you mentioned whether it was a pole or bush bean though. It’s a beautiful pod though.
The beans remind me of a bean my parents used to grow. They purchased them from Southern States Co-op and they were called a horticultural bean. The color of the dry pods look the same also Those were always very pretty and quite delicious and my mom’s favorite. I pretty much think all beans are yummy! Happy belated birthday to the girls!!
Very interesting! so many varieties.
It looks a lot like what is called “October bean “. They have green pods that turn buff-colored with red streaks with large whitish beans. They are a bush bean and the ones I grew this year were not heavy producers and did not bloom long. We used them as shelllys to mix into the green beans. I got the seed by buying the pods at the local farm market. Whatever they night be called, they are sure enough pretty.
That’s it! You hit the bean in the shell with that answer! I’ve put away a many of them in my time.
I’m going to try these if they are available. They look tasty!
One thing I wanted to tell you was we tried the Rattlesnake variety you grow, and boy, how delicious!
Thank you, Tipper, for telling us about them! God Bless You!
That is a new one one me. I have a few new varieties and am anxious to try them. Thanks for another great video. God Bless you guys.
Thank you for sharing the beauty of small things like the mystery bean. As the hymn says, “Little is much when God is in it.” Seeing God in all things is a great gift.
some of the bean varieties are beautiful.