Bush Bean/Dry Bean
We are so excited to carry Baba’s Beans — a Ukrainian family heirloom from our friend Sharon. Sharon’s Ukrainian grandparents brought Baba’s Beans to Canada in the 1930s and then stewarded them in Manitoba.
Baba’s Beans are beautiful plumb cream coloured ‘sulfur’ beans that are a wonderful shell or dry bean.
Here is the story of Baba’s Beans from Sharon:
“The story of these beans can be traced back to August 1939. This is when Julia and Alex Dedio left their Ukrainian village of Sosnica, Poland on a transatlantic journey with only a wicker trunk full of their belongings. These white beans were in the trunk and our family has called them by no other name than Baba’s Beans.” (Note: Sharon still has her grandmother’s trunk – see image.)
“They appear to be a type of sulfur bean that grows to approximately 2.5 to 3 feet. Plant the seeds 3-4 inches apart, in rows 1.5 feet apart (overcrowding will reduce your yield). The bean pods will start off green and as they fill out turn yellow, at which point they are ready to harvest. They can be used dried, blanched and frozen, or even canned. This hearty comfort food is sure to become a pantry staple.”
Sharon’s family continues to grow Baba’s Beans in Manitoba — and grew the beans we are offering. This is what seed saving is all about! Making sure good varieties that have stood the test of time — thriving despite climate and environmental variabilities — get shared and grown so that all of that genetic diversity (e.g. information about how to survive those climate and environmental variables) continues onwards and helps feed the next generation of seed savers.
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Within Canada only shipping on beans, thank you.
