Tina Davies of Emmerdale Eden farm introduced our Crop-Climate project to several early-maturing dry beans that grow successfully in Prince Edward Island (seehttps://heritagepotato.ca/richard/favourite-dry-dual-purpose-heritage-beans-from-emmerdale-eden-farm-prince-edward-island/). We are on the lookout for dry beans suitable to Canada’s short growing season and the variety Wiener-Treib (translates to Vienna sprout) seemed to be a good candidate. This German heritage variety is known from at least as far back as 1899. I gave it a try in my Vancouver Island garden. I also discovered that it was initially part a trial of beans and a seed saving project on the “Sunshine Coast” of British Columbia northwest of Vancouver. The Sunshine coast is place of sea, mountains and small communities accessible only by water and air. Gardens enjoy a mild coastal climate. I report the results of my trials of this European bush variety on the Saanich Peninsula, Vancouver Island, and briefly introduce the Bean Seed Project (now Rare Bean Seed Project) (https://www.sunseeds.ca/bean-seed-project) of the Sunshine Coast.
The Bean Seed Project started when author and Salt Spring Island seed farmer Dan Jason (https://www.saltspringseeds.com/) donated rare, heirloom bean seeds from the Dutch Gene Bank to the Sunshine Coast Seed Saving Collective. The Sunshine Coast Seed Saving Collective, and Salt Spring Seed Sanctuary designed a program to promote heritage seed growing and food sustainability through seed sharing libraries. The project involved the conventional Gibsons and District Public library too. Community food gardeners grow the bean varieties and save the seeds to share with other folks. Anne, a local Dutch seed saver, researched information on the varieties to share with the local seed growers. Participants have shared stories and images of each variety and celebrated the harvest with a meal of bean soup. Beans continue to be shared through local Seedy Saturdays.
Wiener-Treib plants grow as erect bushes between 50-70 cm tall (average 60 cm= 24”). Branching occurs throughout, and the pods are carried in the upper half of the bush. Flowers start creamy yellow then turn a clear sparkling white with greenish tinge on the upper petals. Pods are thin and curved. Pod length varies from 13 to 16 cm (5-6”), mostly in the 14-15 cm range (about 6”). The pods are more or less round in cross section about 0.8-0.9 cm (1/3”) in diameter. The point of the pods often curves strongly extending about 1.5 cm (2/3”) long.
Typically, 5 or 6 small seeds pack tightly in to the narrow pod. Each seed is slightly kidney-shaped and has orange-brown markings around the scar. These makings artfully separate into spots that sprinkle to the end of the bean. Seeds are mostly 1.2-1.3 cm long (1/2”), sometimes larger when occurring singly in a pod. Seeds are round in cross section and about 1/2cm (1/4”) in diameter.
In 2025 I sowed this variety on May 4, somewhat early for my garden and without any row cover. Germination began by May 10 and most seeds had emerged by May 18. Development was rapid with plants reaching the 2-3 leaf stage and standing 15 cm (6”) tall by May 30. Two weeks later, on June 14 the bushes were covered in many buds and the first flowers were visible. White flowers covered the plants some having formed tiny pods by June 28. Bushes reached 40-50cm (16-20”) tall, bearing many flowers and 1-3 cm (1”) pods on July 4. Development progressed rapidly in July with 50-70% of the leaves yellow and numerous full-sized green pods at the end of the month. All the leaves were shrivelled soon thereafter on August 2 and 50% of the pods were harvested with the rest picked on August 7. Wiener Treib is a determinate variety meaning it stops growing and shrivels when pods mature.
The early May sowing yielded a first harvest in 90 days and complete in-field harvest in 95 days. By comparison the Bean Seed Project and Tina Davies of PEI (https://heritagepotato.ca/richard/favourite-dry-dual-purpose-heritage-beans-from-emmerdale-eden-farm-prince-edward-island/) reported dry beans ready to pick in 75 days almost certainly because of a later seeding in warmer weather. In any case having dry beans ready by the beginning of August is exceptionally early for us on the Pacific Coast of Canada. The resulting yield was 0.14 kg/m = 0.10 lbs/foot, a typical yield for a small-seeded bush bean.
There is not much information on cooking with Wiener-Trieb beans. The German bean site https://www.bohnen-atlas.de/sorten/w/424-wiener-treib describes the seeds as being firm when cooked and having a “nutty aroma”. Bean Seed Project participants noted that the beans have an “exceptionally rich flavour and a meaty texture”. The beans are great baked or added to soups, stews and chilis.
If you or your group have held bean variety trials or run a project to save heritage bean varieties we would be happy to write them up for our website. We are also interested in compiling data on what varieties flourish in your area. We hope to eventually share this information through a map tool with other folks curious about what varieties might grow where they live.
