Plant-based proteins from Canadian heritage beans
Edible legumes (beans, pulses) are a key plant food and provide a reliable source of high-quality protein to compliment potatoes. Food self-sufficiency and sustainability are now obviously vital during this time of highly varying climate and weather extremes. Bean diversity like that of potatoes is great and much of it is maintained by back yard gardeners and small-scale growers in Canada and traditional farmers elsewhere in the world.
Registration for this year’s Citizen Science Trials are now closed
Come back to the website to learn more, and do try some beans on your own.
We are always to hear which beans you are growing and how they are working for you!
Tanya’s Pink Pod: A British Columbia Island Original
Richard Hebda and Dan Jason New bean varieties must arise somewhere. There are of course intentional crosses to improve characteristics such as productivity and disease resistance. Historically however bean varieties have arisen either by mutation of a common variety...
Drew’s Dandy Delivers!
In a previous article I described the characteristics of an early prairie bush bean called Drew’s Dandy and its value for dry beans (see http://heritagepotato.ca/heritage-beans/drews-dandy/ on this website). Drew’s Dandy is a common bean, Phaesolus vulgaris. This...
Frosty Beans: Unexpected extremes in a mild climate
Climate change is causing problems on our farms… droughts, floods, heat domes, fires, pests. 2023 is projected to be the first year that global mean surface temperatures exceed 1.5 C of warming. It may be getting warmer overall, but the transition to warmer conditions...
Blue Jay: Discovery in the Bean Patch
Few heritage beans receive much media attention, however the attractively coloured and named Blue Jay recently came to national notice through an article on in Canada’s Globe and Mail by Erin Anderssen...
Costa Rica Red Bean: Traditional, productive and easy to grow.
More and more folks are enjoying the ecological and cultural diversity of Central America. These daysCosta Rica seems to be the place to visit with its peace-loving people, relaxed lifestyle, and ecologicalattitude the country is particularly attractive to Canadian...
Calypso: a pretty and early dry bean
There are many attractive-looking dry beans to grow such as the beautiful red- or maroon-spotted “Borlotti” or Cranberry types such as La Pinta and the gold hued red marked Tiger’s Eye (see articles on our site). I am particularly attracted to seeds that have black...
Drew’s Dandy: An extraordinary northern bean
Our Crop Climate project aims to investigate beans that might thrive in Canada’s largely northern climate with its short growing season. We have found one that fits the bill! Drew’s Dandy hails from the Carrot River area of east central Saskatchewan. Carrot River is...
Aura: An extra early Polish bush bean
Our crop climate project aims to preserve and test a diversity of varieties especially for northern climates with short growing seasons. My rather eclectic approach to the bean component of our project was to trial whatever we could find. A few years ago, I purchased...
Kashmir Bean: Mountain Bounty
Kashmir conjures up visions of monstrous mountains covered in snow at the top of the world, and certainly does not call up a picture of beans. Yet according to one source Kashmir heritage beans are the most widely used variety in India! Who could resist trying this...
Xico – Black Bean Bounty
Part of a series on growing heritage bean varieties for local food sustainability. Figure 1. At centre, a row of closely planted Xico bushes with pink flower (bottom of photo), Edamame (soy beans) to the left and various pole beans to the right. Dense planting...