2025 Little Easy Bean Network - Growers Of The Future Will Be Glad We Saved

[heirloomgal]

As far as I’m aware, the most common European varieties with roughly that patterning but not that colouring are pea beans which come with different but related names. I have grown Pea Bean, Inca Pea Bean. Oddly though there is also Kjem's Pea Bean but that has entirely different patterning. And there’s also Tunny

Are pea beans different than regular beans in some regard? Is the term pea meant to denote a particular kind of use?

 

[flowerbug]

Are pea beans different than regular beans in some regard? Is the term pea meant to denote a particular kind of use?

the only one i know of it is just the size of the bean (it's a small white bean) called the Navy Pea Bean or just the Navy Bean was how i commonly saw them called.

 

[heirloomgal]

It was such a pleasure this year to grow the 'St. Anthony' bean. So grateful to you @Decoy1 because that bean has been on my wish list for a long time, and I was quite convinced fate would likely not arrange it. It was a stunning plant, just enormous. The seeds are really, really lovely. I may grow it again in 2026 because I had so little chance to give it a head start with the arctic spring we had, and it was later maturing for me. I'd love to get a bigger yield of these beauties!

I was doing some research on it the other day, and this is what I found.

The 'St. Anthony' bean variety is an heirloom bean whose name is linked to the tradition of sowing beans on the feast day of St. Anthony of Padua (June 13th), particularly in the Polizzi Generosa region of Sicily, Italy.

The origin of the bean itself is a local ecotype cultivated for centuries in the small family vegetable gardens of Polizzi Generosa. It is known locally by names such as fasolo badda bianca, badda niura, or munachedda, depending on the specific coloring of its mottling (pinkish-orange or darker veining). The specific variety that is named "St. Anthony" is described as a large, round, whitish seed with dark eye markings.

The practice of sowing on St. Anthony's feast day is a long-standing local tradition among farmers, linking the agricultural cycle to the religious calendar, and is a testament to the cultural and historical significance of the saint in the region.

I finally got to shelling the very last bean, 'A Cornetto Largo Verde'. It was such a large bean, and unusual too. The pods had a little less uniformity that I'm used to. And there was one bean of the four plants that was crossed, those pods were much smaller. It's said to get up to 20 cm, which is about 8 inches, according to the description, but these (confusingly?) surpassed that. So I saved the seeds from that biggest pod, and think I'll regrow them and see if I can get more that consistently achieve 12 inches again. Now that the season is over and I'm not engulfed in pods these feel like even more of a marvel.

 

[heirloomgal]

the only one i know of it is just the size of the bean (it's a small white bean) called the Navy Pea Bean or just the Navy Bean was how i commonly saw them called.

That's my association with the pea reference as well, the small white Navy beans. But I have grown the Inca Pea bean too, so I've come to have that connection as well. I'd guess with the Navy beans they get the pea title because they're comparable to whole dried peas for cooking, similar look & purpose, but that wouldn't really apply to the Inca Pea bean really since it's so different than whole peas.

 

[Neen5MI]

No problem as I actually thought I planted the greasy ones and have the description for Pinktip Greasy in my notes. Better to discover that now than later . A grower about an hour north of me offers the greasy variety, so hopefully it will perform okay here.

Mine are the white seeded, also.

 

[Decoy1]

Are pea beans different than regular beans in some regard? Is the term pea meant to denote a particular kind of use?

It seems that the term is used differently in UK from in US. I think @flowerbug is right in suggesting a connection with size but in Britain the term seems historically to be used for this kind of bi-coloured bean whereas in US it is more likely to be used for navy beans, ie. small white beans.

The AI answer is:
The term “pea bean” originally referred to several varieties of beans that resemble peas in size and shape. In Britain, “pea bean” was used to describe a bicoloured climbing bean—typically Phaseolus vulgaris, recorded since the 16th century—whose small, rounded seeds could be eaten in the pod or as mature dried beans. In the United States, the same term came to describe small, white common beans, especially the navy bean, which fed sailors in the 19th century and became synonymous with the name “pea bean” or “white pea bean”.

 

[Decoy1]

It was such a pleasure this year to grow the 'St. Anthony' bean. So grateful to you @Decoy1 because that bean has been on my wish list for a long time, and I was quite convinced fate would likely not arrange it. It was a stunning plant, just enormous. The seeds are really, really lovely. I may grow it again in 2026 because I had so little chance to give it a head start with the arctic spring we had, and it was later maturing for me. I'd love to get a bigger yield of these beauties!

I'm delighted you had good true-to-type seed as I grew them myself and had some off-types - plain black. Were all yours true St Anthony?

 

[heirloomgal]

It seems that the term is used differently in UK from in US. I think @flowerbug is right in suggesting a connection with size but in Britain the term seems historically to be used for this kind of bi-coloured bean whereas in US it is more likely to be used for navy beans, ie. small white beans.

The AI answer is:
The term “pea bean” originally referred to several varieties of beans that resemble peas in size and shape. In Britain, “pea bean” was used to describe a bicoloured climbing bean—typically Phaseolus vulgaris, recorded since the 16th century—whose small, rounded seeds could be eaten in the pod or as mature dried beans. In the United States, the same term came to describe small, white common beans, especially the navy bean, which fed sailors in the 19th century and became synonymous with the name “pea bean” or “white pea bean”.

So that's where the navy reference comes from! Wow, all this time I had no idea! That is the neatest historical tidbit.

 

[heirloomgal]

I'm delighted you had good true-to-type seed as I grew them myself and had some off-types - plain black. Were all yours true St Anthony?

Yes, 100% true to type. I think I grew 4 plants altogether. In your climate, do you find these a fairly easy to mature bean even if a bit late?

 

[ruralmamma]

Woke to the first snow of the year and had nearly 6" on the ground by dark. No plans to leave the house this week but will finish up sorting the last few varieties and get a box ready to send to @Blue-Jay next week. Still more photos to take and notes to update, but I think I can officially say my gardening year has come to an end.