Goose Gullet bean
$4.00
(Phaseolus vulgaris)
A large-seeded bush bean with light speckling on a rich red-brown background. The story of the name is interesting: in 1755 the British, having freshly subdued the former French colony of Acadia (now Nova Scotia & New Brunswick), became distrustful of the Acadians’ willingness to be good British subjects. So, in one of the ugly chapters of Canadian history (the Grand Dérangement/ Acadian Expulsion), they rounded up many of them, loaded them onto ships, and scattered them all over their empire. They then brought in new colonists to claim the Acadians’ freshly vacated farms.
Not all the Acadians went, however. Some escaped into the forests and found refuge with the Mi’kmaq. Apparently, in that first winter, an Acadian hunter found this bean in the gullet of a goose he had killed, and planted it. It has been grown in the region ever since.
Out of stock
Plant after last frost; soil must be warm or seed will rot. If growing on corn, wait to plant until corn is about 3” tall, or two weeks after corn is planted. Darker coloured seeds usually germinate better in cooler soil. Sow 1” deep. Space bush beans 2-4” apart and pole beans in pairs 8” apart, with 8” between pairs if climbing twine, or in groups of 3-4 around single poles 1’ apart. Pick green beans before seeds start swelling, shelly beans when seeds are full size but before pods dry, and dry beans when pods are fully dry; seed must be dry enough to not dent with a fingernail for storage. Dry beans can be further dried on a tarp, then threshed by dancing on them and winnowing away the chaff.