Skunk Bean

Climbing green beans, gives 6 to 7 very small beans per pod. They are a nice pink, and are delicious as dry beans. Just as delicious as green beans, and produces a lot. This bean was given during a Seedy Saturday to René Paquet, then volunteer representative at the Canada Seeds of Diversity booth, by Marie-Jeanne Disant, from Quebec City. René then shared a couple with me, and it didn't take long before charmed by their high-yields and color! Marie-Jeanne Disant: "I am so glad to find other enthusiasts for my grandma's bean. I have been saving them since the 70s, sharing them with whomever wants them, telling myself how important it is to save this heritage!" "I did indeed get those beans from my grandma. She was living in France and had never left her Ile-de-France community, unlike these beans which have crossed the ocean! She had received them from her Swiss neighbor, who made her this gift between the two wars. How did the bean initially get to Europe, and Switzerland, I have no idea! But when I moved to Quebec in the 90s, I brought some in my shoes. I thought I wasn't infringing on the law that much, since I was simply bringing them back to their original continent. [...] One more thing, they can eaten as green beans even when the small seeds are forming inside, since they are so tender." We later on learned that Mrs. Disant carried the beans in the shoes in her suitcase, not the ones she was wearing. Package: 30 seeds

This pink-flowered tobacco grows easily in any type of soil. Hardy, short, and an early producer, the plant ripens in only six weeks and offers leaves with a strong flavour. Considered sacred, this tobacco is an important medicinal plant for First Nations, and is used in numerous rituals. Mentions of this tobacco date back to 1807, according to the 1897 W.M Ewing & cie's catalogue. In Quebec, the Small Canadian tobacco has been grown for over a century. As early as 1884, it became commercialized by the J. O. Forest factory in Saint-Roch-de-L'Achigan. Considered as rare. Package: 750 seeds

This very ancient variety was supposedly brought to the U.S. on the Mayflower boat in 1620. The boat was carrying English religious dissidents, the Pilgrim fathers, and other European people seeking a land where they could fully enjoy religious freedom. This variety was widely grown in the Carolinas region. Despite this nice story, and considering most beans are originally from America, it is more likely that the colonizers 'borrowed' this variety from First Nations and named it after their boat. Perhaps. Their pods are small, and contain squarish beans, sprinkled with pink and white marks. Can be eaten as green beans when still young, or as dry beans when they reach maturity after 85 days. Mayflower beans are part of the SlowFood USA's Ark of Taste. Package: 30 seeds

High-yielding bush bean producing shelling beans of a beautiful matte white color. They were given to us by an Iroquoian collector, but we were not able to retrieve its origin. The variety is mentioned in an old New York catalog, but it is described as a climbing variety. We do no have further informations. A rarity!

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

This bush variety is very productive and, even more notably, gives very early yields. A regular harvest as soon as the beans are ready will stimulate further yields. This bean can be eaten as a green bean, and as a dry bean. The mature beans are creamy white with beautiful pink spots. We have found numerous mentions of this bean in documents dating from the early 19th Century, but its popularity seems to have declined in the 20th Century.   Package: 30 seeds