Thank you for the info about the seed zoo. I'll check it out right away.
I actually don't have a single regional preference for my collection of Beans, I just happen to have more of them.
I adore the Appalachian Beans! They are almost all for eating fresh pods, and they each have such a special history, and they come in special kinds. Creaseback is a green Bean with a prominent line down the middle for stringing. Remember, they are almost all picked at a slightly later stage than your store bought bean varieties, so they are stringed. They have more meat and flavor that way. Greasies are simply shiny smooth, not really greasy. Cutshorts are so cool! They are all bulging, the beans packed in the pod so tight they kind of square each other off. A lot of the Appalachian varieties that are not famous are kind of cutshort, or kind of greasy, or supposed to be greasy but are not quite so. Or, they can be all the above, or a mixed batch of sorts, that can have a history that starts with a civil war soldier walking home picking a few bean seeds here, a few there, and making it home with a pocketful of beans. Cornfields usually fit the bill as none of the above, but they grow well in with the corn. It is possible for a Bean to be a GREASY CUTSHORT CREASEBACK CORNFIELD BEAN. I can visualise it, but not sure if one exists!
Dry Beans are so cool because so many of them are so colorful. A lot of them do come from the southwest and from Mexico, but there are a lot from up north too. They come in so many colors, but I am still looking for a nice glossy brown variety. Seems they get selected away from that color. I'm working on a couple of varieties, actually selecting TOWARD gloss brown.
Italian Beans are cool too! They come in several basic kinds, each very different. Borlottos are dual purpose, but mostly as dry beans, beige and red pinto markings in various shades, sizes and shapes, some pole, some bush. Annelinos are fresh eating beans, and get kind of curly shaped. They are finnicky growing, and don't do well in Montana, at least the ones i tried. Romano beans come in a lot more variety than some catalogs would make you think. True Romanos are big huge flat pods, the EXACT OPPOSITE of Cutshort, and do have a tenderness and sweetness. The beans in the pods might be 2 inches separate from each other. These are extremely vigorous plants, almost as vigorous as some of the Purple podded Beans...
