Van Goghs Olive

Semi Runner dry bean variety from France. Seed was sourced from the bean collection of Joseph Simcox "The Botanical Explorer" 2013.

Veense

Pole Snap. Flat wide stringless pods 8 inches, 20cm or more. Pods remain tender for long periods. This traditional Dutch climbing variety is usually used sliced. Superb taste. Early maturing. My seed donor is from Hobartville, New South Wales, Australia 2014

Veitch’s Climbing

Pole Dry. This beautiful maroon bean is also sold in the UK by Beans And Herbs UK. My donor is Jan Galpin of Lincolnshire, England.

Venda

Bush Snap. South African commercial snap bean no longer found in catalogs there. Seed donor is from Hercules, South Africa. 2013

Verde Temuco

Pole Dry. Dry bean from Argentina that doesn't climb very far for me. Supposedly daylength sensitive. Most of the time it won’t produce any seed here. Blooms late in the season. Sent it to a grower in Wisconsin and it grew beautifully for them. I have been told this bean is from Argentina. Verde in Spanish means green and Temuco is a city in southern Chile. I find it a little odd that a bean from Argentina would have the name of a Chilean city as part of it's name.

Vodenjak 1

Bush Dry. This bean come to me in 2015 from my bean frined in Liebenfels, Austra.

Volta

Bush Snap. More discontinues snap varieties from South Africa. Donor is from Hercules, South Africa 2013.

Vulkan

Pole Dry. My seed donor is from Drevhostic, Czech Republic, 2019.

Wadena

Semi-Runner Dry. One of the many original named beans by Robert Lobitz of Paynesville, Minnesota. Named after Wadena, Minnesota. In the Ojibwe language Wandena means "little round hill". My seed source is Seed Savers Exchange 2012.

Wadex

Bush Snap. Bred by Dr. B. L. Wade of the USDA Southeastern Vegetable Breeding Laboratory in Charleston, South Carolina. He is also the breeder of Wade Bush, and Contender. This bean was meant to be an improvement over Wade bush. My seed source is Seed Savers Exchange 2015.

Walcherse Bruine Kogel

Pole Dry. My seed donor is from Lincolnshire, England, 2019. Origin is probably Holland.

Warpath

Pole Dry. My seed donor is Jospeh Simcox "The Botanical Explorer" 2013. No origin was givn for this bean.

Wesley Railroad Spike

Pole Snap. My seed source for this bean is Kris Hubbard of Artemus, Ky. This bean was originally grown by a Wesley Smith, the Great Uncle of Kris's friend Jimmie Ann Fosbrink. Wesley lived on High Street in Dunbar Pennsylvania. He worked for the railroad and gave haircuts in his basement for $2.00. He never owned a car. He shared the seeds with Jimmie Ann's mother, Beatrice Feltner Smally in the early 1940's, when she manned their family farm. She passed away in 2006. Jimmie had been the keeper of the bean since then and now Kris is the seed keeper of this bean.

Whipple

Bush dry grows with short runners. The beans are named after Lee and Dana Whipple who after retirement from the longest running family co-op outside of Chicago, Illlinois. They then settled down in Douglas county, Oregon in the 1970’s. Eventually this bean was introduced to local growers and gardeners through seed swaps. The bean was gifted to me by Jenny Blaser of Little Chute, Wisconsin 2021

White Baby Lima

Bush Dry. Likely a commercial variety. My seed donor is from Potter Valley California 2013.

White Coco

Pole Dry. My seed donor is from Hercules, South Africa. Country of origin is France.

White Horticultural

Bush dry. .The origin of this bean maybe Canada from where it came to me. My seed donor is Tamara Clement of Sudbury, Ontario 2021

White Snowball Greasy

Pole Greasy. .This bean probably came to me at a seed swap and by the time I get home from the event I have no idea where I get a bean or from who it came. I believe I probably got it at the Sustainable Mountain Agriculture swap in Livingston, Tennessee October 2021. Greasy beans do not have the fine hairs that most bean pods have. Thus the pods have the appearance that they are slightly oily.

White Refugee

Bush Wax. I had grown this bean in the 1980's and listed it in the SSE yearbook. Someone sent it to me in the mail but I never was much of a record keeper in those days. I became the only donor of this bean to the Seed Savers Exchange bean collection.

White Turtle

Bush dry. Seed donor is from Potter Valley, California 2013.

White Seeded Pencil Pod

Bush Wax. The original Pencil Pod was a black seeded variety developed by Calvin Keeney the father of the stringless bean. This white seeded bean had been a commerical variety in the late '70's and into the 80's. Seems to be nowhere to found anymore. Seed donor Karen Golden of Highland, Michigan 2018, has told me I had to try these. So considering her enthusiastic pitch for the bean they must be good.

Wide Pod White Greasy

Pole. This bean is not likely to be stringless. Greasy beans are not. Probably could also make a good soup or baking bean. My seed donor is from Potter Valley, Californaia 2013.

Wiedland Landsort

Growth Habit Unknown. Country of Origin unknown. Collected in Europe by Jospeh Simcox possibly in 2012. The seed in this photo is an example of poor seed quality. The seed is not fully filled out. Seeds have places where they are sunken. Plants were likely under some sort of stress. It could have been lack of enough water, or poor soil preparation where the soil was hard and plants could not put down a good root system. A germination test was performed on the seed and resulted in 57% seed that sprouted. The remainder of the seed in now in freezer storage.

Winterfare

Pole Dry. Seed donor is Will Bonsall of Industry, Maine 2011. Will gave the bean thsi name.

Witsa

Pole Greasy Pod. Released in 1964. A South African variety developed in 1951 by the Agricultural Research Institute from a cross between St Louis Perfection and Green Savage. Very productive bean that will produce very well especially in water stressed environments. A bean that almost went extinct being grown by a single farmer. When that farmer passed away suddenly there was no Witsa. Reclaimed after Living Seeds put out the call to former customers of the bean. My Seed donor is from Hercules, South Africa 2013.

Witzenhausen Red

Pole Dry. My seed donor is from Willich, Germany. A different colored Witzenhausen than the one I received from DeaFlora Seeds in Germany in 2013.

Woodruff

Prostrate. This bean has a very long history of being grown in the USA. Historical information supports that this variety was brought to the American colonies by the Woodruff family back in 1624. My seed donor was Joseph Simcox "The Botanical Explorer" 2013.

Woza Sugar

Bush Dry. Cranberry or horticultural bean from South Africa. Seed donor from Hercules, South Africa 2013.

Wren's Egg

Bush Dry. Often descriptions of Wren's Egg characterize it as a pole bean. Somehow the name must have gotten attached to this bush version also. Seed donor from Potter Valley, California 2013.

Yaris

Bush Snap. Nearly rice sized seed of this bean from the United Kingdom. Seed donor is Joseph Simcox "The Botanical Explorer" 2013

Yellow Long

Pole Wax. Seed donor is Joseph Simcox "The Botanical Explorer" 2013. Country of origin Sweden.

Yellow Soldier

Bush Wax. From a Seed Savers Exchange membr from Michigan 2012. This bean very much seems like a commercial wax bean that someone may have forgotten the beans original name. Then named it yelow soldier for the wax pods and the brown soldier figure at the eye.

Yoeme Pastel Eye

Pole. No history or origin of this bean from my Potter Valley, California seed donor 2013.

Yooni’s Enie Bona

Pole Dry. May also have snap bean use. The bean has been grown and handed down through an Amish family through the 20th Century. Grown by Jonathan and Anna Miller. The bean also has been grown through a family named Yoder as a daughter of Jonathan and Anna named Katie married a Will Yoder. This bean was given to me at the 2023 Michiana seed swap in Goshen, Indiana by a desendant of the Yoder family, Carla Yoder.

Zambezi #1

Pole Dry. Seed donor from Hercules, South Africa 2013. Country of origin, Zambia.

Zambezi #2

Pole Dry. Seed donor from Hercules, South Africa 2013. Country of origin, Zambia.

Zargonos Of Zestos

Pole Snap. This variety orignates from the Zargonos region of Greece. Gifted to me by Jenny Blaser of Little Chute, Wisconsin 2021

Zebra

Pole Dry. Seed donor of this pretty bean from Catasaugua, Pennsylvania 2019. Upon a grow out in 2021 the seed the plants produced were rounded and mostly dark gray.

Zugdidi Flat Cake

Pole Dry. Seed donor is Joseph Simcox "The Botanical Explorer" 2015. Country of origin Georgia.

Zugdidi Ivory

Pole Dry. Seed donor is Joseph Simcox "The Botanical Explorer" 2015. Country of origin Georgia.

Aksai

Pole Dry. With this entry the Will Bonsall collection that was sent to me in 2015 begins. This bean was grown out in 2016 and named by Jerry Maddox of Prairie Grove, Arkansas. The seed mother of this bean was one called Terrier Kidney. Jerry Maddox tells me this bean has become stable.

Algonquin

Pole Dry. Grown out and named by Russell Crow of Woodstock, Illinois. The bean seems to be stable and breed true to type. The seed mother of this bean is the pole variety Norridgewock which has rounded plump seed about half red and half white.

Apple Creek

Bush Snap. Grown out and named by Russell Crow of Woodstock, Illinois. The bean seems to be stable and breed true to type. The seed mother is a bush variety called Torekeny Viss which I have never seen.

Avalon

Bush Snap. Grown out and named by Amanda Winland of Mount Alto, West Virginia in 2016. Avanlon's seed mother is a bush variety from Italy called Anellino di Trento which has pods that are curved. Green with purple specks and streaks.

Banzala

Bush Dry. This bean was grown out in 2017 and named by Jerry Maddox of Prairie Grove, Arkansas. The seed mother of this bean is once again a pole variety called Norridgewock which has seed half red and white. Jerry Maddox had declared this bean stable.

Black Horse

Bush Dry. Grown out and named by Russell Crow of Woodstock, Illinois in 2016. This bean seems to be stable. The seed mother of this bean was said to be Jacob's Cattle or Pinto. Sounds as if Will Bonsall was not really totally sure from what variety he collected these glossy black seeds from.

Blue Heron

Pole Dry. This bean grown out and named in 2016 by Tricia Rosamilia of Catasauqua, Pennsylvania. Blue Heron's seed mother is a pole bean called Walker's Great Valley. Sounds like very majestic inheritance.

Bubblegum

Pole dry. This bean grown out and named in 2016 by Tricia Rosamilia of Catasauqua, Pennsylvania. This bean also has inherited some genes from Walker's Great Valley pole bean.

Buckeye

Bush Dry. This bean was grown out and named by Nance Klehm of Freeport Illinois in 2018. This bean's seed mother is a bush variety called Purple Ontario. I have grown that bean back in the 1980's and it comes from Canada. It has plump solid purple seed.

Carmel Delight

Pole Dry. This bean grown out and named in 2016 by Tricia Rosamilia of Catasauqua, Pennsylvania. This bean also has the seed mother of Walker's Great Valley.

Chase River

Pole. This bean was grown out in 2016 by Garry Greene of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Chase River's seed mother is a pole bean called Christley.

Cleopatra

Pole Snap. Grown out and named in 2016 by Amanda Winland of Mount Alto, West Virginia. Cleopatra's seed mother is a pole bean that I also have grown back in the 1980's called Roark. It has seed that looks exactly like a pinto. I also believe that Roark was a snap bean.