Dutch Princess Bean

Heirloom variety introduced to the Saint Lawrence River Valley by French settlers in the 17th Century. It is still eaten today and makes delicious pea soup. High yielding plants. They will need trellising and can grow up to 1 meter tall. The Potager d'Antan reports this story : « According to an old European tradition dating back from the 15th Century, Hubertus, patron saint of hunters, was associated with the pea soup. To make a long story short, during his lifetime, in the 7th Century, Hubert went astray, hunted on Good Friday, and while pursuing a stag, he had a vision in which he saw the animal with a crucifix between its antlers and heard a voice enjoining him to lead a holy life. Hubertus later performed many miracles, evangelized pagans in distant countries, and erected temples dedicated to the Lord. He died on May 30, 727. His relics were translated on November 3, 743. His feast day is November 3 in Belgium and May 30 in France. In memory of Saint Hubert, European settlers in Quebec supposedly kept the name of this pea variety, used in the preparation of the « hunting soup ». For the complete story, visit the Potager d’Antan website. This variety is very rare and is considered endangered.   Package: 30 seeds

High-yielding yellow bush bean. Can withstand comparison with the Beurre de Rocquencourt. Delicious long yellow pods with black seeds. Can be eaten when young and tender or as a dry bean. Very productive over a long period of time, the more you pick the more it will give you beans. This old variety comes from Sainte-Hélène, Kamouraska County, where it has been cultivated since time immemorial by Rollande Labrie (born in 1923) and her family. We are proud to offer it and ensure its preservation. Wax bean originally comes from Algeria. Under the name Algiers Bean, it made its appearance in France in the 1840s. From then on, the French selected and developed many yellow wax beans with black seeds. The most famous one is the Beurre de Rocquencourt, named after a town near Versailles.   Package: 30-35 seeds

Hardy climbing bean, can reach up to 12 foot in height. Tender green pods, sweet and somewhat flat beans. High-yielding. Usually grown for its beige, chocolaty-brown striped beans, but can also be eaten as green beans. Climbs so high that our tutors couldn't support it and got knocked down by the weight at the end of the season. Originally grown by the Kahnawake Iroquoian First Nations (Quebec). One of the most beautiful beans we grow. Package: 30 seeds

Old dwarf cultivar from Beauce, Quebec. Its green pods are covered with purple stripes. It can be eaten as green or dry beans. According to many, they're the best choice to make baked beans (fèves au lard). However, Boucher Family bean fans disagree. The solution? Mix 'em both! Beauce territory was originally occupied by the Iroquoian Nation of the Saint-Lawrence. It is therefore a possibility that this bean comes from a variety that they were growing. With the arrival of the first Colonizers many trades happened, among which beans were handed to the newcomers. With this gift, they then continued selection over many years to create different varieties. This variety, Thibodeau du comté Beauce, was found by Mr Marc Warsha. He was given the seeds by Mr Martin Roy from St-Zacharie, in Beauce. The cultivation of this bean had been carried for 4 generations, starting with the great-great-grandmother of Martin Roy, as far as we can trace back. The name, Thibodeau du comté Beauce, was first listed in the Seed of Diversity catalogue in 2003. Package: 30 seeds

Also known as the "Montreal Market Muskmelon" or "Montreal Nutmeg Melon". This mythical green flesh melon with a nutmeg flavor has almost disappeared.

 

The earliest records come from the Jesuits, who cultivated this variety in the Montreal Plain in 1684. According to the Potager d'Antan : "this melon went through many selections during the 17th Century, before being introduced under the name "Montreal Melon", in 1870. In the 1880s, it was listed as one of the best seller in New England by American seed company Burpee".

 

Very popular at the beginning of the 1900s and until the 1950s, it was largely commercialized and grown by three families : the Aubin, the Décarie and the Gorman. But lack of labour force, rises in wages and the spreading of the city triggered its decline. As highways paved the island, it slowly faded from our collective memory. When farms vanished from Montreal, it risked being obliterated. Until a journalist found its trace in a seed bank, in the United States.

 

This melon is a living proof of our seed and food diversity decline. Save your seeds and share them.

 

Heirloom variety. Listed on Slow Food Canada's Ark of Taste.

 

Pkt : 12 seeds.

A Cross between the mythical Montreal Melon and the American Banana Cantaloup. Its orange aromatic flesh is exquisite. Bred in 1910 in Oka Trappist Cistercian monastery by Father Athanase, Director of the Oka Agricultural Institute. The Oka Melon disappeared after the closing of the school, in 1962, but was rediscovered on Bizard Island, near Montreal. Right where we're growing it ! Heirloom variety.   Package : 12 seeds.