Free 8 Heirloom Bean Seeds

Sustainable Living Center of Lincoln City takes threats to biodiversity seriously. We are starting to build a Tsunami Seed Bank of select varieties that will grow on the Oregon Coast, so we can feed ourselves before and after, if we ever get hit by a Tsunami.

We offer free seeds to people who promise they will grow, document and harvest the seeds from one plant and returned the seeds from that plant back to the Center.

Presently, there is 8 different varieties in our Corn Bank. If you have a carnn that is not on our list, we accept donations.

Planting

Direct seed beans in rows 36-48 inches apart and plant the beans 2 inches apart and 1 inch deep. The seeds take 3-6 days to germinate.. Make sure to leave your beans on the vine until the pods are completely mature.

Climbing French Bean is a organic snap bean

• Organic
• Snap bean
• Pole habit
• Stringless
• 65-75 days

This variety will grow well in most regions of the United States.  This was once the most widely grown French climbing bean in England, according to the 1931 book, The Beans of New York. Lilac flowers, 4-7″ stringless pods. Excellent for fresh eating. Shiny dark purple seeds. 65-75 days.

Cherokee Trail of Tears is a heirloom bean is perfect for dry beans or fresh eating

• Pole beans
• Black seeds
• 6 inch pods
• Snap or dry bean

This variety will grow well in most regions of the United States. Between 1838 and 1839 the Cherokee people of the United States were forced to march across the Smoky Mountains to Oklahoma. This winter death march is known as the Trail of Tears as over 4,000 people died making the trip.

In 1977 a member of Seed Savers Exchange named Dr. John Wyche from Hugo, Oklahoma donated these seeds to our collection. It is thought that his Cherokee ancestors carried this heirloom bean with them on the Trail of Tears.

Beans were domesticated in the Americas thousands of years ago and serve as a protein in the diet of humans and animals.

The Sunset if a Runner Bean that produces abundant crops of beans throughout the season

• Salmon-pink blossoms
• Beans are black and speckled with purple edges
• Highly productive
• Pole bean

This variety will grow well in most regions of the United States.

Runner beans originated from the mountains of Central America and they are different from common beans. Until the late 1970s gardeners in the United States grew the plant as an ornamental, but in Europe they have been grown for their pods and beans

The  Scarlet Renner is is one of the oldest runner bean varieties in existence

• Scarlet blossoms
• Immature beans are pink
• Beans mature to black and speckled mauve
• Pole bean

This variety will grow well in most regions of the United States.  This variety has been known to gardeners since at least 1750 according to Miller’s Dictionary and listed for sale in America as early as 1822 by Thorburn’s seed house.

Runner beans originated from the mountains of Central America and they are different from common beans. Until the late 1970s gardeners in the United States grew the plant as an ornamental, but in Europe they have been grown for their pods and beans for generations.

Turkey Craw Bean is an excellent heritage variety from the southern United States

• Pole beans
• Stringless pods
• Brown beans with tan flecks
• Snap or dry bean

This variety will grow well in most regions of the United States.   This bean variety was donated to Seed Savers Exchange in 1981 by John Withee of Maine. It was a part of the collection of 1,186 varieties of beans maintained by his Wanigan Associates.

The original seed from this historic bean variety is said to have been found in the craw of a wild turkey. It has been grown widely in Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

Beans were domesticated in the Americas thousands of years ago and serve as a protein in the diet of humans and animals.

Mayflower Bean is a historic bean is great for fresh eating and as a dry bean

• Organic
• Pole beans
• Square white seeds speckled with rose
• Snap or dry bean

This variety will grow well in most regions of the United States.

This historic bean has a long history of being circulated in the Carolinas and is said to have been brought to North America in 1620 by Ann Hutchinson.

It is also known as “Amish Knuttle” bean.

Beans were domesticated in the Americas thousands of years ago and serve as a protein in the diet of humans and animals.

This Caribbean Calypso Bean bears distinctive black and white markings

• Organic
• Bush bean
• Black and white seeds
• Dry bean

This variety will grow well in most regions of the United States.  This bean is also known as “Yin Yang” and is originally from the Caribbean.

Beans were domesticated in the Americas thousands of years ago and serve as a protein in the diet of humans and animals.  These beans liked to be cooked long and slow at low heat to keep their texture and flavor at it’s peak. Try them in your favorite baked beans recipe.

Add these beans as a side to your favorite Caribbean dishes or toss them in to a bean stew with chicken, pork, or oxtail.

Ireland Creek Annie is a abundant and reliable producer of dry beans

• Organic
• Bush bean
• Yellow to tan beans
• Dry bean

This variety will grow well in most regions of the United States.  This heirloom bean has been grown since the 1930s on Ireland Creek Farm in British Columbia and is thought to have been developed in England.

Beans were domesticated in the Americas thousands of years ago and serve as a protein in the diet of humans and animals.