Richard Hebda and Royann Petrell (Steller Raven Ecological Farm)
Bean seeds come in many colours and patterns. Many of us have jars and bags of beans stowed away for years in a dark corner, not so much for their food value but for their natural artistic merit. The variety Early Pinkies produces colourful and early seeds well worth some space in your garden. It is an off-shoot of a diverse bean breeding program on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
As is the case in many early dry beans the plants are generally short and well branched, but do not produce tendrils. Over two separate years bushes grown on the Saanich Peninsula have mostly grown 30 to 40 cm (12-16”) tall. Flowers are softly bicoloured with pale pink petals hanging over pure white ones. Pods arise mainly in the mid to upper positions of the bush.
Numerous (10-13) pods develop on each plant. They tend to be strongly attached to the plants at harvest time. The pods have a gentle even curve. When dry, they turn beige with a yellow undertone, sometimes spotted purple. The long pods are mostly straight, but curve slightly to a 1.5-2 cm point. Pod length ranges from 15-17.5 cm averaging about 16.4 cm (about 6 1/2”). The cross-section is more or less round and about 1 cm (2/5”) across.
Pods yield 4-8 seeds per pod, mainly 5-6 each. They are slightly flattened with a typical kidney bean shape. The colour of most seeds ranges from pale pink to striking purple-pink with dark purple marks sparsely distributed over the surface. Rarely, pods yield seeds that show a colour pattern reversed of the typical one in which the purple background is marked in pink speckles. Over time, many of the pinkish seeds will turn orangy. Colour change in bean seeds is genetic and can be controlled by careful selection. Markings sometimes extend into long curving lines, oriented along the edge opposite the scar. The prominent white scar occupies a shallow depression surrounded by a slightly flattened zone. The flattened zone, unlike the case in many varieties, has no distinctive colour, but at one end there is a tiny contrasting dark bump.
Seeds are of moderate size for a common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) variety. The length varies from 1.4 -1.7 cm (average about 1.6 cm= 2/3”). Seeds are about ½ cm (1/5”) thick and slightly less than a centimetre (1/3”) high.
In 2023 the yield was 0.37 kg dry beans plus 50 snap beans for an estimate of 0.44 kg in a row of 2 m long = 0 .22 kg /m (0.15lbs./ft). In 2024 a 3.0 m row yielded 0.63kg in 3 m = 0.21 kg/m (0.14 lbs/ft) of row very similar to the previous yield. Compared to other small stature bush beans such as Calypso (https://heritagepotato.ca/heritage-beans/calypso/) this is a good yield. Beans with a more robust bush and straggling semi-pole growth can yield up to 0.44 kg/m (0.3 lbs/ft) but the growing time is much longer (see Costa Rica Red https://heritagepotato.ca/heritage-beans/costa-rica-red-bean-traditional-productive-and-easy-to-grow/ .
Earlie pinkies seeds were obtained from Salt Spring Seeds. However here is the full story of the origin of the variety. It originates from Steller Raven Ecological Farm near Cumberland Vancouver Island operated by Royann Petrell and Sylvain Alie. Many new dry bean varieties have been developed on the farm over the last 25 years. Seeds of two varieties were given to Lucy Desjarlais to grow. Lucy noticed that one of the varieties (possibly Steller Raven Farm’s Purple Yummy) returned 5-10 beans of a different color and shape. These were grown out at the Steller Raven and the best plants were selected for seed. Two years later 8 cups of seeds were produced, and Royann gave some of that seed to Lucy. Another two years later (2019), the Comox Valley Seed Bank (a committee under the Comox Valley Growers and Seed Savers) placed Early Pinkies into a community growing trial. Eight volunteer growers from around the Valley grew at least 40 plants each. The bean was declared productive and tasty, and so it was named an “All Comox Valley Winning Vegetable”! One thousand seeds were amassed and placed into a freezer for preservation. Lucy Desjarlais then grew Earlie Pinkies, and provided seeds of the bean to Salt Spring Seeds where it can now be purchased. Royann thinks the Early Pinkies resulted from a successful cross between a dwarf cannelloni and Steller Farm’s “Purple Yummy”.
Early Pinkies produce an excellent dry bean. It is suitable for making tasty, refried beans, soups and chiles. One never knows what pretty and productive bean may appear in the bean patch. Stay tuned for more stories about the many new bean varieties developed at Steller Raven Ecological Farm, Vancouver Island.
Beautiful pale pink blooms of Early Pinkies variety of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). Photo June 28, 2023, Saanich Peninsula, Vancouver Island, Richard Hebda.