Quick facts
Phaseolus vulgaris 100 days to dry, bush bean. This heirloom bean arrived in North America in the 1620s. Sponsored by the Slow Food Ark of Taste to promote the preservation of this highly adaptable variety. Eat as a green or dry bean, but typically used as a dry bean. How to grow it:
Seed specs: Packet size: 30 min.
Slow Food ARK OF TASTE Variety: For it's rich history and cultural significance, this bean has been chosen to board the Slow Food Ark of Taste. The Slow Food Ark of Taste is where "culinary heritage meets biodiversity." Varieties placed on the "ark" are those whose rich history and cultural significance is well documented, yet whose existence is threatened simply by the lack of people growing and perpetuating it. Varieties of crops, like species of plants and animals, can (and do) go extinct from lack of habitat and unfavorable conditions. These varieties deserve preservation not just because they each have a great story, but because the futures of our evolving food crops depend on a rich well of genetic diversity with which they can continually adapt, and be adapted by plant breeders, to thrive in changing conditions. In the case of our food crops, the unfavorable conditions leading to a decrease in diversity are many, but one we can immediately address is the decrease in the number of people growing these crops and saving these seeds. Check out our Slow Food Ark of Taste Package, which includes this bean. |
