Full Beans – Appalachian Heirloom Delight

Full beans are a special type of green bean which remain tender and delicious when the pod matures to have a bean inside. When cooked, you get to eat the outer green bean pod as well as a tender, immature bean. It is like eating two different vegetables combined. We learned about full beans through Bill Best, an Appalachian heirloom seed collector who has made heirloom beans a major focus. He has written extensively on these old Appalachian beans. He posits that many native Americans primarily ate green beans this way. While the pods are of relatively low energy value, the beans inside provide significant protein which would have sustained those people. Most modern green beans become fibrous and inedible at the stage when the beans begin to fill out. With full beans, the pod can even be mature enough to slightly yellow and still be tender. These have strings in the edge of the bean which are removed while snapping.

We trialed around 20 varieties of heirloom full beans and identified three which were the most disease resistant from the group under our Florida garden conditions. This seed pack is a mix of those three varieties. If one meets the needs of your garden best, you can save the seed from that type for future years.

These are climbing pole beans which need a trellis. Green beans perform very well in Spring and Fall but do not grow during Florida summers.

Phaseolus vulgaris

30 seeds