Hurley

Pole/Lima. This is a lima discovered here in 2014 that comes out of Stevenson's lima. It's very productive. Lots of small pods with about three beans per pod. I personally like white beans as you can add any flavor to them without the bean overpowering your flavor.

Ice

Semi-Runner/Snap. 55 days to snaps and 95 days to dry beans. Considered a wax variety although I don't know why. The pods are not yellow, but a very light green nearly white. Small very productive plants with a slight vining habit.

Idaho Marrow

Semi Runner Dry. There have been many different variety names of Marrow beans both pole and bush. They were very popular in this country in the 1850's as a baking bean. Also good in soup with a creamy texture.

Idaho Refugee

Bush/Snap. 5 to 6 inch green stringless pods. Blossom Pink. Plants very productive, viney with lots of branches, tall, spreading and grows short tendrils at the top of it's growth but does not climb Idaho Refugee was bred by Walter Pierce and J.C. Walker. A mosaic resistant bush type released through the University of Idaho. An All American Selections winner in 1934. One of the first BCMV resistant varieties created as the result of deliberate breeding. A joint breeding program between the University of Idaho and Wisconsin. Parentage is Corbett Refugee and Stringless Green Refugee. Idaho Refugee is often used in the breeding of newer snap bean varieties.

Illinois Giant

Pole Lima. Very productive. First dry pods in about 85 to 90 days. Vines can grow to 12 feet. Originally a cross of Dr. Martin and Christmas limas. First listed in the Seed Savers Exchange yearbook in 1992 by SSE member Glenn Cooper resident of the state of Massachusetts. Glenn had obtained the bean from former Polo, Illinois resident, the late Merlyn Niedens in 1991.

Illinois Snap

Bush/Snap. Upright plants without runners. 50 days for excellent green oval snap pods. Blossom pink. Discovered in 1979 named by me as an outcross occurring in the mid 70's, and now stable. Grown in 2014 to test it's eating qualities. Found to be stringless, and tender with more body, than many snap varieties, and of excellent flavor.

Illinois Wax

Bush/Wax. Yellow podded snap bean. Upright plants grow without runners. This is the sister companion to Illinois snap. A product of my gardens and named by me in the late 70's. Grown for the beans eating qualities in 2014. Found to be tender and stringless with good snap bean flavor.

Illinois Wild Goose

Pole/Dry. About 104 days to dry seed. Discovered in my bean gardens back in 1979, and named by me. Referenced in my bean book "Hill Of Beans" which can be viewed at SSE's Heritage Farm Library. No record of what variety it was found in. I liked the story of the Mostoller Wild Goose and liked the wild goose names. So I decided that I wanted to get into the wild goose naming business at least one time.

Indian

Bush/Dry. 90+ days to first dry seed. Red Kidney type seed with large tall plants about 24 inches high.

Indian Mound

Pole/Dry. I grew this bean in the early 80's. Had been traded around by Seed Saver Exchange members from 1983-89 before disappearing from the yearbook. It was listed on my bean wants list in the yearbook. Suddenly in 2016 an Oregon SSE member sent it to me and said he had been keeping it since the mid 1980's. He had difficulty keeping it more productive in his Oregon climate. Maturity time has been described from 90 to 120 days. That could be for shelly's or for longer maturity time for dry beans.

Iroquois Cornbread

Pole/Dry. 105 days to first dry pods. Productive plants grow with straight pods. Used in traditional cornbreads. Iroquois nations had other names for this bean. Tuscorora Bread, and Skaroora Bread are just two more. From corn collector extraordinaire, and all around traditionl plant variety caretaker Stephen Smith of Guthrie, Kentucky.

Jacob's Cattle Amish

Bush/Dry. Don't know if this is a Jacob's Cattle strain or just a look-a-like. From a gardener in the Netherlands. Longer more slender pods than the Jacob's Cattle, and more productive. The color pattern remains more true than does the strains of Jacob's Cattle grown in our very warm U.S. summers

Jembo Polish

Pole/Snap. Blossom fuchsia. A rare large Seeded Snap that should be better known by gardeners. Impressive productive plants produce tasty green snap pods, or the soft immature seed can be used as a shell bean. Can be direct seeded when daytime temperatues reach into the 60's in well drained loose soil. Discovered this variety at Bill Best's Sustainable Mountain Agricultural Center seed swap in 2015. A wonderful seed swap event. The first weekend in October in Berea, Kentucky.

Jiminez

Pole/Snap. Blossom white. 60 days to first snaps. Vines can grow to 10 feet. However I have grown them on shorter single poles. Handsome green flattened pods nearly 10 inches to 1 foot long become brilliantly shaded in solid red as seeds mature. Bears over a long season. Also said to be good for delicious shell beans. Easy to hand shell as pod walls are thin.

John's Bean

Bush/Dry. 85, Good short season dry bean. Very beautiful productive variety. Grown more extensively in Canada but does very well here in the U.S.

Junin

Bush/Dry. A beautiful bright pink seed. Especially when harvested new. Plants are very productive, healthy, and robust that grow to 24 inches tall. Seed pictured was grown in the 2013 growing season. From Astid Storm of Jevenstedt, Germany. According to USDA documents this bean was said to be from an Andean gene pool, wild common beans, from an area around Junin, Peru.

Kartoffelbohne

Pole/Dry. Very productive. Rare European bean that I had acquired from a grower in Austria. Vines become loaded with pods as the pods bulge with the shape of the maturing beans inside.

Kay Snap

Bush/Snap. 85 days to first dry pods, and about 50 days to green round podded snaps. Seed mother is Kishwaukee Green.

Keewatin

Bush/Dry. 85 days to dry beans. Another variety of the large bean legacy left behind by the late Robert Lobitz of Paynesville, Minnesota. Named after Keewatin, Minnesota located in Itasca county. Robert named most of his beans for towns and places in his state.

Kenearly

Bush/Dry. 85 days to dry beans. Another of the yellow eye types bred in Kentville Nova Scotia Research Center to ripen the seed crop nearly all at once. My original source for seed of this bean comes from the Ozark Seed Bank.

Kermit’s Smoky Mountain

Pole/Snap. Productive. This historic bean variety was grown in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee for five generations by the Caughron family. Kermit Caughron was the last man to live in what is now the Smoky Mountain national park, and this is his bean.

Khabarovsk

Pole Dry. Russian variety from Khabarovsk, Siberia. XL sized seed is somewhat rounded plump and expands even more when cooked. Flavor may remind you of delicious creamy potatoes. Very productive plants. Pods are gorgeous and aflame with red streaks and patches as the seed matures.

Kirschbohne

Pole/Dry. Productive. Excellent to be used for chili, soups and stews. Pods are fat and meaty. The German to English name translates as Cherry Bean. Grown in Austria the bean is said to do well in cool climates.

Kifl Mucko

Pole/Dry. Gifted to me by Harriet Mella of Austria. A small cranberry cutshort type of seed. Very productive plants loaded with 2 and 1/2 to 3 inch (6 to 8cm) pods containing 6 to 7 seeds. The seeds are tightly packed close together in their pods at maturity. These plants produce as much or more volume of beans than do many larger seeded varieties. Also well formed seed with hardly ever any rejects.

Kishwaukee Green

Bush/snap. Green podded. Discovered, as a segregation of Kishwaukee Yellow and named by me in 1978. Plants are very productive. Probably one of the most productive green beans I have grown. Pods are somewhat curved 6 to 7 inches long and stringless. Produces two other seed coat colors besides the photo. Same maturity time as Kishwaukee Yellow. The beans are named after the Kishwaukee river (from the Potawatomi language means "river of the Sycamore") that flows through 3 northern Illinois counties. The headwaters of the river is in Woodstock, Illinois.

Kishwaukee Yellow

Bush/Wax Discovered, as a cross and named by me in 1977. Plants are very productive. Might be the most productive wax bean I have ever grown. Pods are somewhat curved 6 to 7 inches long and stringless. Produces two other seed coat colors besides the photo. Once sold by Amy Hawk (Simply Beans) in Calhan, Colorado. Had also been sold commercially by Horus Botanicals of Salem, Arkansas. There is a green podded companion called Kishwaukee Green that developed from seed grown out in 1978 of Kishwaukee Yellow. Named after the Kishwaukee river that flows through 3 northern Illinois counties. The headwaters of the river is in Woodstock, Illinois.

Kitoba

Pole/Dry. Very productive. Can be used for fresh eating. The bean will become covered in pods and has large leaves. Origin is Africa.

Kleine Soldatenboon

Bush/Dry. First dry pods in about 90 days. In English it's name translates to Small Soldier Bean. A lovely bean to be admired for it's own simple beauty. From a gardener in the Netherlands. Productive and excellent for stewing or baking where ever a white seeded bean would be required.

Kneply's Forty Bushel

Bush/Dry. Blossom: White. 80 days to dry seed. Seedcoat color and seed shape suggests to me a yellow eye bean. An Ohio family heirloom grown by Clayton Kneply. Upright plants are disease and drought tolerant.

Koronis Giant Pinto

Bush dry. First dry pods in 85 days. Pods dry sequentially over a perid of about three weeks. A Robert Lobitz named and introduced variety.

Koronis Golden Navy

Semi runner dry. First dry pods in 83 days. Pods dry sequentially. Compact productive plants produce short 4 inch pods that contain 3 to 4 small light golden yellowish seeds. A Robert Lobitz named and introduced variety.

Koronis Little Red Trout

Bush dry. First dry pods in 85 days. Pods dry sequentially. A ten foot of row will produce nearly a half pound of beans. Small oval seeds that look just like a little Jacob’s Cattle bean. This is another of the many named beans by Robert Lobitz that he released through the Seed Savers Exchange year book in the early 2000’s.

Koronis Purple

Bush Large Seeded Dry Bean. 85 days to dry seed. Blossom: purple-pink. Tall plants produce 6 and quarter inch pods. An original bean variety from the late Robert Lobitz of Paynesville, Minnesota.

Koronis Red Eye

Bush Dry. 85 days to 90 days for first dry pods. This is a very productive bean. I have seen this bean produce a little over a pound in a 10 foot section of row. One of the many named varieties from the late Robert Lobitz of Paynesville, Minnesota.

Koronis Tan Trout

Bush/Dry. 90 Days to first dry pods. Seed is like a small tan and white Jacob’s Cattle. The seed is white when harvest new. Then it takes about a month for the color and pattern to begin to become more noticeable. A bean that Robert Lobitz had named and received in a bag of crosses from Dan Jason of Salt Spring Seeds in Canada.

Koronis Three Islands

Bush/Dry. 94 Days to first dry pod in 2013. Blossom: Pale violet. 18 inch plants without runners produces short flat pods. I liked the way these plants continued to stand erect right on through the pod drying period during our 2013 growing season. Another of the bean originals by the Late Robert Lobitz. Introduced in 1997.

Koronis White Oaks

Bush Dry. 17 inch tall plants with pink blossoms. Pods contain plump rounded solid white beans. A Robert Lobitz original named bean.

Koronis Yellow

Bush Dry. 15 inch tall plants. Pods 4.5 inches long contain oval beans that when harvest new are nearly white with a slight partial black eye ring. Seed color of light yellow takes time to develop. Once it’s yellow coloring develop the bean reminds me of a Sulphur bean. Another of the Robert Lobitz named beans.

Koronis Yellow Eye

Bush Dry. Blossom white. Grows without runners. Early with first dry pod in 73 days when grown here in northern Illinois. Three weeks to dry down it's entire pod set. An original bean named and introduced by Robert Lobitz through the Seed Savers Exchange yearbook in 1999.

Kretser Soldier

Bush dry bean. Productive and grows without runners to about twenty inches tall. Plants, pods, and maturity similar in season with other soldier beans.

Lake Avenue Beauty

Bush dry. Blossom pink. 6 inch pods streaked lighly in purple. 90 days to first dry pod then three weeks to dry it's entire pod set. An original bean named and introduced through the Seed Savers Exchange yearbook in 2006 by Robert Lobitz. He named this bean after Lake Avenue in his hometown of Paynesville, Minnesota.

Lambada

Pole/Dry. 115 days to first dry 6 inch long and 3/4 inch wide pods some containing up to 5 seeds. Boldly marked seed seem to contrast more strongly than many horticultural types. From Søren Holt of Kastrup, Denmark. He had purchased these in a market in Irkutsk, Siberia. The pods become gorgeously and brightly aflame with red streaks and patches as the seed inside matures.

Landfrauen

Pole Snap. 60 days to snaps. Plant produces long round green pods with purple stripping. A Swiss heirloom obtained From the Central Tree Crops Research Trust in New Zealand from their New Zealand Bean Project. It's German name translates to english as Country Woman. Possibly grown by farmers wives in kitchen gardens.

Lavender Swirl

Pole/Dry. The first time I grew this bean it didn’t climb much but could have been the hot droughty season which was the cause of this. The bean is a Joseph Simcox Collected bean from overseas somewhere. The bean maybe very productive grown in a season more condusive to it’s growth.

Leslie Tenderpod

Pole/Snap. Very productive old time bean. 108 days for first dry seed. Round green 4 inch long pods wrinkle as they dry. Green pods are tender and stringless when cooked. Can also be used as a dry bean. From the mountain region of Eastern Kentucky.

Lila Stuart

Bush/Dry 90 to 110 days to dry seed. A bean from the Wanigan collection I originally grew back in the early 1980's. 18 inch tall plants (45cm). The bean comes out of early SSE member Ernest B. Dana's collection of Etna, N.H. in the 1970’s. Reacquired from an Oregon SSE member, who acquired it from a Washington SSE member, who originally got the bean from me. The circle has been completed.

Lilaschecke

Pole/Snap/Wax 70 days to short stringless yellow pods. Plants climb to about 8 feet. Comes from the Moravia region of the Chech republic.

Lina Sisco Bird Egg

Bush/Dry. 85 days to dry seed. Blossom, Light pink. High yields on 14 inch upright plants without runners. Produces 6 inch pods. Seed is marked like many horticultural beans. Brought to Missouri by Lina Sico's grandmother in the 1880's by covered wagon. Lina Sisco was one of the original six members of Seed Savers Exchange in 1975.

Liscek

Pole/Dry. 95 days to first dry pods. Blossom white. 6 inch pods borne on productive plants. Obtained from a grower in Willich, Germany. Original country of origin Slovenia.

Little Brown Cat

Semi-Runner/Dry. Blossom white. Viney tall plant. 90 days to dry beans which are small to medium in size. Productive, and easy to shell. Another original bean variety from the late Robert Lobitz of Paynesville, Minnesota.

Little Brown Eagle

Bush Dry. Blossom White. 6 to 7 inch green pods on 16 inch tall plants. Pods are easy to hand shell when dry. 88 days to first dry pods. Then pods dry sequentially over about 3 weeks. Very Productive. From the Robert Lobitz legacy beans that I have been working with since 2015.

Little Falls

Bush Dry. Blossom Lavender. 6 to 7 inch pods on 20 inch tall plants. 86 days to first dry pods. Then pods dry sequentially over about 3 weeks. Very Productive, and easy to hand shell. A Robert Lobitz legacy bean that I have worked with since 2015.

Littlefields Special

Bush/Dry. 80 days to dry pods. Growth similar to Jacobs Cattle. Similar pods, pod set, and plant height. Good for short growing seasons. The seedcoat color is patterned the same as Jacobs Cattle and to me more of a darker purple than Black Trout, and Black And White Trout.

Lohrey's Special

Pole, snap, shell, dry use. Blossom mauve. First dry pods in about 90 days. Dry seed is easy to shell with it's thin pod walls. Pods are 8 inches long slightly flattened. Seed flattened. Has been grown by the Royce Lohrey family of Tasmania for over 70 years.

Logan Giant

Pole/Snap 70 Days to delicious snaps. Vigorous climber 12 to 15 feet. Productive of 6 inch long pods. An old West Virginia heirloom.

Lois Archer

Pole/Lima Productive variety I have yet to discover it’s history.