Dry Beans in Salmon Arm British Columbia: Six varieties for Hardiness zone 6b
Maureen and Paul Whitfield and Richard Hebda
The Crop-Climate project gathers information on the success and failure of bean varieties in the different climates of Canada. If you can grow them, you can eat them and contribute to food sustainability. Six bean varieties raised in Richard Hebda’s Saanich BC trial plots made their way to the garden beds of Maureen and Paul Whitfield of Salmon Arm in the southern Interior of British Columbia in the spring of 2025. All varieties produced dry beans pointing to the potential to raise this important protein source in many parts of southern Canada especially with warming climates.
Climate
Salmon Arm is in plant hardiness zone 6b according to the most recent and updated Canadian classification (1991-2020). The nearby Environment Canada Salmon Arm weather station at the edge of Shuswap Lake reveals a mean annual temperature of 8.6C (47 F). There are about 650 mm (26”) of precipitation distributed almost evenly through the year though July and August can be dry. June, July and August are warm with average daily temperatures between 17 and 21C (63-70 F), offering excellent conditions for growing beans. However, September’s daily average declines to about 15C (59 F) and daily minimums only 7.5C (46 F).
Growing Degree Days (base 5C) provide a sense of growing season warmth. Salmon Arm has 2,000-2,300 GDD (https://salmonarm.weatherstats.ca/charts/gdd_5-yearly.html), slightly less than Victoria, more than Nova Scotia. Southern Ontario has several hundred more GDD and all parts of Canada show rapidly increasing Growing Degree Days as climate warms, a good trend for growing beans. The growing season is 150 days or more at Salmon Arm. Growing season length is increasing rapidly with Climate Change across Canada too.
The Trial
Fifteen to eighteen bush bean seeds were planted on May 1 in 1.5m (58”) long single line rows spaced 40cm (16”) apart. This is a bit early for the traditional planning time which is mid-May according to the South Central BC Vegetable Planting Guide. In all cases germination was incomplete and additional seeds were sown on May 25. Each of the two pole bean varieties were grown using 6 x 6’ (about 2 m) bamboo poles placed in teepee style, tied at the top. Two beans were planted at each pole 10 cm (4”) apart. For yield comparisons in the Results section, slightly fewer pole bean plants grew than bush plants. The beans were watered twice each week following local watering regulations and weeded regularly. An important thing is that the poles need to be very sturdy and deeply set in the soil as the winds can be quite strong at times.
Bush varieties ranged from old heritage types to a more modern variety spanning sources in Asia, the Americas and Europe. Included were:
- “Xico” an ancient black type originally from the market of the town of Xico, Mexico
- “La Pinta” a heritage white and maroon speckled type from northern Spain
- “Kashmir” a small seeded red variety from Himalayas of India
- “Mayocoba” a modern pale green variety widely grown and used in Mexico
Pole beans included two heritage North American varieties:
- “Pezel” a giant Vancouver Island white and maroon speckled type
- “Annie Jackson” vigorous, highly productive maroon and white seed from Manitoba
Comprehensive descriptions of each variety are available at www.heritagepotato.ca under the Heritage Beans tab or at the link provided above.
Results
Trial varieties and yields of dry beans grown by Paul and Maureen Whitfield at Salmon Arm British Columbia in 2025. Originally sown May 1 and resown May 25. Varieties are listed in order of maturity. For an approximate comparison the area occupied by the tipi support for pole beans was converted to a length of 1.5 m (5’) of row. Pole bean yields are likely underestimated because they came from fewer plants than bush bean sowings.
| Variety | Harvest time | Yield | Comments |
| Bush Bean | |||
| La Pinta | August 11-24 | 171 gm = .11 kg/m (0.12 lbs/ft) | |
| Kashmir | August 11–mid-September | 264 gm = .18 kg/m (0.18 lbs/ft) | A few had dried inside |
| Xico | August 17– mid-September | 248 gm =.17 kg/m (0.17 lbs/ft)) | |
| Mayocoba | August 17– mid-September | 222 gm =.15 kg/m (0.15 lbs/ft) | |
| Pole Bean | |||
| Annie Jackson | August 21 and well into September | 514 gm =more than .34 kg/m (0.35 lbs/ft) | |
| Pezel | August 24 to end of September | 446 gm = more than .30 kg/m (0.30 lbs/ft) | slow to mature; Many of the beans were not well formed, brown in colour so discarded, perhaps poles too short or not enough water. |
The beans all grew well. There were no diseases or bugs noted on any of the plants. May 1 was too early a date to sow for good germination as noted earlier. May 25 seemed much better. Bush beans matured earlier than pole beans and some of the pole bean pods had to be dried indoors.
The harvest of bush beans started in mid August well before any frost. Using May 25 as the sowing date, the harvest spanned from 92 – 113 days with September 15 as an inferred mid September end date. La Pinta a speckled (cranberry) type yielded earliest but least, whereas the other three varieties matured about the same time with similar yields. Notably these three varieties included traditional red and black beans and a more modern white bean (Mayocoba). Yields were on the low side for bush beans especially so for Mayocoba which produced nearly 50% more in a bad weather year and 250% more in a good year on Vancouver Island (https://heritagepotato.ca/heritage-beans/marvellous-mayocoba-many-names-many-uses/), using a close-spaced double row planting.
Pole beans began to mature in late August a week to two weeks later than bush beans, still within the growing season interval. The Annie Jackson variety harvest spanned 88-119. Pezel a very tall pole bean was harvested from 97 to 128 days after sowing and some of the pods had not fully matured even at the end of the harvest. The yields of more than 0.30 of kg/m (0.30 lbs/ft) were greater than for bush beans as is typical and when considering the smaller number of seeds sown likely similar to those obtained in Saanich Peninsula trials.
All six varieties of beans in the Salmon Arm trial were grown successfully. Even the two pole bean varieties especially Annie Jackson yielded a good crop. The wide variety of bush beans would suggest many different bean varieties can be raised for dry beans in this zone 6b location with its 150-day growing season. This zone and warmer zones occur widely in southern Canada in Nova Scotia, southern Ontario, and on BC’s coast, and will occur even more widely with climate change. Gardeners and commercial growers will have a wide range of heritage varieties to choose from as we search for the sources of plant protein to grow in Canada.
To conclude we used three cups of Annie Jackson Pole beans in place of 1 can of Kidney beans in “Quickie Cincinnati Chili” recipe than includes cocoa and cinnamon. We love the rich warm chocolate flavour of this dish and the beans made it a thick wholesome meal (see https://www.countryliving.com/food-drinks/recipes/a33625/quickie-cincinnati-chili-recipe-ghk1012/).