TEPARY BEANS
P. acutifolius
MOST OF THE WORLD’S BEANS are native to Mexico and are a staple food there. Fresh beans, particularly fava beans, during Lent, are served in a number of dishes, but cooked dry beans are the most common form.
Runner beans grow on large vines covered with spikes of scarlet red flowers. These flowers are followed by long string beans that are eaten fresh, or, later in the growing season, by the large shelled beans.
Tepary beans are an ancient bean type cultivated for centuries by the Papago Indians and other desert dwellers. Teparies are extremely heat, drought, and alkaline-soil tolerant. They are also very nutritious.
How to grow: The majority of cultivated beans are annuals that must be planted after all danger of frost is past.
Standard Snap, Shelling, and Dry Beans
Most beans have similar needs—namely, full sun and a good, loose garden loam with plenty of added humus. Sow seeds of bush beans 1 inch deep in rows 18 inches apart; thin to 6 inches. Pole beans need a strong trellis to climb on. Plant the seeds 1 inch deep; thin to 8 inches apart. If the plants look pale at midseason, fertilize with fish emulsion. Beans are best watered deeply and infrequently. They have their share of pests, including bean beetles, beanloopers, whiteflies, aphids, mites, and cucumber beetles. Anthracnose and leaf spots diseases are most prevalent in humid climates.
Harvest snap beans when the seeds inside are still very small and the pods are tender. For a continual crop, make sure to keep all beans harvested. Alternately, let the dry-bean varieties mature for a harvest of dry beans. See Harvesting Dry Beans, on page 25, for complete instructions.
Fava Beans
Fava beans are in another genus and grow in a different manner, as they prefer cool conditions and can tolerate light frosts. In cold-winter areas, plant fava beans when you plant peas. In areas where winters don’t dip into the teens, plant favas in the fall. They need about 90 days of cool weather to produce well. To plant, prepare the soil and plant seeds 2 inches deep and about 3 inches apart. The plants grow quickly to 5 feet in height. Support the tall plants with stakes and strings surrounding the outsides of the beds. Black aphids sometimes infest fava beans; control them with sprays of water or a commercial soap spray; slugs can destroy seedling beds.
Fava beans
‘Windsor’ fava beans
For young, tender fava beans that do not need the skins removed, harvest when they first start to fill out the pods. Alternately, let the fava beans mature and use them for fresh shelling beans or let them dry in the pod for dry beans.
Runner Beans
Runner beans produce best in cool-summer areas. Grow them in good soil and in full sun. Plant the seeds in the ground 1 inch deep; thin to 6 inches apart. Keep the plants fairly moist and protect the seedlings from slugs, snails, and bean beetles. The plants flower within a few months and beans are produced if the weather stays cool or turns cool in early fall.
Harvest young runner bean pods for snap beans (the pods are larger than standard snap beans) or let the pods fill out and harvest for fresh shelling beans or for dried beans after the pods dry.
Tepary Beans
Tepary beans are fast-growing dry beans. Sow seeds in summer after the soil has warmed. Plant in full sun, ½ inch deep and 4 inches apart. Teparies are tolerant of heat and drought. Give them an initial deep watering at planting time (or plant just before a good summer rain) and then water after that only if the plants look stressed. Too much water causes the plants to produce foliage rather than pods. Teparies have low resistance to bean mosaic virus, which may be transferred by seed; therefore, I recommend purchasing virus-free seed only.
Scarlet runner beans
threshing dry beans in a bag.
Teparies are usually harvested for dry beans. Harvest the pods as they dry or harvest the whole plant once the pods are brown.
Harvesting Dry Beans: In rainy climates, drape plants over a crude drying frame or store them inside. In dry climates, let the pods dry completely in the garden and harvest the whole plant. Once the bean pods are completely dry, the seeds must be separated from the pods. For a small batch, shell the beans out by hand. For larger harvests, cut a 6-inch hole in the bottom corner of a burlap bag and tie it closed with a string. Put the plants in the bag and hang the bag on a branch or shed door; beat on it with a stick to loosen the beans from the pods. When most of the beans are free, hold a pan under the hole, untie the string, and empty the beans into the pan. Take out the chaff and repeat the process.
Clean the beans from the chaff. When the beans are completely dry, store them in a cool, dry place in containers that will keep bugs out. To prevent weevils, first put the containers in the freezer for 24 hours to kill the eggs.
Seed saving: Most beans are self-pollinating, so cross-pollination is usually not a problem. However, it is possible for insects to cause cross-pollination. To guard against crossing, separate varieties by 10 yards or put cages or cloth bags over the flowers. Runner beans are insect pollinated and therefore more likely to cross-pollinate. Harvest bean pods when they are dry, remove the seed, and continue to dry by laying the seed on a screen in a warm, dry room for a few weeks, stirring them every few days, When they are thoroughly dry, pack the seed in mason jars, label them, and freeze them for 24 hours to kill any weevils. Store in a cool, dry, dark place.
Varieties
Snap Beans
‘Blue Lake’: 62 days; pole; to 8 feet, productive; sweet, classic beany-flavored green pods; bush variety also available
‘Kentucky Wonder’ (‘Old Homestead’): 68 days; pole; long, meaty pods popular since the mid-1800s and still great; plants are rust resistant; bush variety also available
Dry Beans
Hundreds of dry-bean varieties are grown in Mexico; here are but a few of the most popular.
‘Black Mexican’ (‘Frijol Negro’): bush; small, black bean, most associated with southern Mexico
‘Frijol Rojo’ (‘Red Mexican Chili’): semivining; popular in Mexico; grows to 4 feet; pods ripen after the plants drop leaves; resistant to bean beetles; most closely associated with central Mexico; available from Redwood City Seed Company
‘Pinto’: 90 days; can be grown as a pole bean; dry beans; most associated with northeastern Mexico and southwestern United States
‘Peruano’: a yellow, fairly small dry bean; bush bean popular in northwestern Mexico; available from Mexican grocery stores
Virus-Free White Tepary: small, white, virus-free tepary beans selected; available from
