Nez Perce bean
$4.00
(Phaseolus vulgaris)
Bush-with-runners type plants have delicate, miniature foliage but set a great number of pods filled with small, golden-yellow beans. They mature uniformly enough to let you harvest whole plants. I found these at Adaptive Seeds, who say that their name suggests a connection to the Nez Perce of Idaho/eastern Oregon, but there is little documentation of it, so it may have reached that area later with settlers. However, it has been in Idaho for most of a century, first grown by Henry Marcus Purnell and later maintained by the Denny family for many years. As one would expect, it does not mind cool weather and is relatively early-maturing.
45 seeds/packet,
In stock
Plant after last frost; soil must be warm or seed will rot. Sow bush beans 1” deep, 3” apart in rows 2′ apart. Pick dry beans when pods are fully dry; seed must be dry enough to not dent with a fingernail for storage. You can also cut whole plants and dry them that way. Dry beans can be further dried on a tarp, then threshed by treading on them and winnowing away the chaff.