| Author | Content |
passiflora_pink
Indian Springs, AL
(Zone 7b)
April 19, 2007
9:17 AM Post #3408528
| An older (70's) lady gave me some seeds for this "heirloom" bean...She said they are "purple beans" and that they are no longer available. She said she had been saving the seeds for years. I had never grown beans but sure enough they produced pretty purple pods...Are these really rare, does anyone know? After all, I looked in the plant files and see Royal Burgundy for example so I know that purple beans exist. Here are some photos. 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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passiflora_pink
Indian Springs, AL
(Zone 7b)
April 19, 2007
9:17 AM Post #3408530
| Another view: 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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passiflora_pink
Indian Springs, AL
(Zone 7b)
April 19, 2007
9:18 AM Post #3408535
| Another: 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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hcmcdole
Powder Springs, GA
(Zone 7b)
April 19, 2007
9:24 AM Post #3408550
| It depends on the definition of rare. It's rare compared to green or yellow beans, but if you Google for "purple beans" I got almost 10,000 hits and a few for sale on eBay.
Maybe they aren't as good tasting or have the yield as green beans but they do have some eye appeal.
[HYPERLINK@search.ebayexpress.com]
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Farmerdill
Augusta, GA
(Zone 8a)
 April 19, 2007
9:58 AM Post #3408643
| Passi, are they pole beans or bunch beans. The pole beans have been around for awhile, especially in Europe. Henry Field sold one for years just called Purple Pod. Bunch forms are relatively new, starting with Royalty, and escalating with Royal Burgundy, Purple TePee, Purple Queen, There is even a a purple Romano type, which I can't recall the name right now. |
passiflora_pink
Indian Springs, AL
(Zone 7b)
April 19, 2007
1:52 PM Post #3409240
| Thanks! I really appreciate the expert advice I can get at DG. Farmerdill you have helped me in the past as well with tomatoes and blueberries, and I am thankful that I have someone who knows what is going on as I stumble through my self-education with my "crops". |
WUVIE
Hulbert, OK
(Zone 7a)
April 20, 2007
5:55 PM Post #3413732
| Mighty pretty!
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spidra
Berkeley, CA
(Zone 9b)
April 20, 2007
6:03 PM Post #3413776
| Wow, is that gorgeous! I totally want some now! |
Laurie1
Burwash Weald
(United Kingdom)
(Zone 9b)
April 23, 2007
8:34 AM Post #3421580
| Passaflora - it might be worth putting a photo of the seed up too. some of them can be quite different and it could help decide what this particular purple is. Also, did you decide if it is a pole (climber) or bunch (non-climber)? |
passiflora_pink
Indian Springs, AL
(Zone 7b)
April 23, 2007
9:05 AM Post #3421664
| It is a climber. Beginner that I am I just put them in the ground on the hillside and they started growing like kudzu, so I put a little tomato cage over them and they went thru that and lifted it up and grew through it and all over my clethra shrub and made its way over to the nearby fence which it would have also overtaken except that there is an equine residing behind the fence that kept the vine in check.
If I had read this post yesterday I could have taken pix of the seeds but I just planted them yesterday afternoon. If they germinate I will use a trellis this time and will save some seeds to photograph.
(edited to show clethra not clematis)
This message was edited Apr 23, 2007 1:49 PM |
Farmerdill
Augusta, GA
(Zone 8a)
April 23, 2007
9:26 AM Post #3421724
| From the shape of the pod and your description of its growth habits, It could be Blue Peter which is a rare heirloom. 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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Hemental
Waynesboro, MS
(Zone 8a)
April 23, 2007
11:49 AM Post #3422225
| The Blue Peter I once grew had purple leaves and flowers.The seed were cream-tan and flat Blue Coco looked more like the one in question.It has purple flowers ans stems.It also has flat light tan seeds.I got my seeds of Blue Coco from a lady in Gadsden Al.through Seed Saver's Exchange many years ago.I no longer have the seeds.
This message was edited Apr 23, 2007 3:40 PM |
Hemental
Waynesboro, MS
(Zone 8a)
April 23, 2007
12:24 PM Post #3422347
| It could also be Dow Purple Pod It too has tan kidney shaped seeds,purple stems,flowers and some purple in the leaves.
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Farmerdill
Augusta, GA
(Zone 8a)
April 23, 2007
12:56 PM Post #3422450
| Here are the seeds from Blue Peter. They are actually darker than the photo, almost a medium brown. It is a rampant grower, very productive, but gets shucky very fast. Strictly a novelty in my book. As far as I know it is not available commercially. It may also be out there in the "heirloom" world under other names. There are probably other similar ones out there. 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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Hemental
Waynesboro, MS
(Zone 8a)
April 23, 2007
4:54 PM Post #3423234
| Farmerdill you may be correct.I checked my seed samples and my seed of Blue Peter and Blue Coco are dark brown contrary to the description in the SSE Yearbook.
The TN.Indian Purple Pod is listed as having maroon black seed.
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JaniePoo2U
Signal Mountain, TN
May 16, 2007
4:30 PM Post #3504485
| Looks like a Hyacynth Bean Vine to me. They get purple bean pods on it like that also. They get a pinkish lavender flower and have a redish leaf. When the seeds dry and they are black with a white stripe then that's probably waht they are. |
ecrane3
Dublin, CA
(Zone 9a)
May 16, 2007
9:10 PM Post #3505463
| Hyacinth bean has shorter fatter pods
[HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com] |
passiflora_pink
Indian Springs, AL
(Zone 7b)
May 17, 2007
8:47 AM Post #3506669
| The seeds I collected last year have germinated. Deer have already been at work on the young plants although I planted them at 2 sites and I anticipate getting some beans this year. I will more carefully document the young and old pods and seeds and maybe we can figure this out. |
sanita
Brandon, FL
(Zone 9a)
May 17, 2007
10:59 AM Post #3507141
| It looks a lot like the hyacinth bean vine seeds a friend gave me from her Mother in Kansas. The seeds we planted were dark black/purple. This thing grew like Jack in the bean stalk here, It sprouted up in 3 days and the vine was purple also. It was 3 feet tall in a matter of weeks. It's too hot here so they didn't last long.
Susan |
WUVIE
Hulbert, OK
(Zone 7a)
May 17, 2007
11:08 AM Post #3507181
| Hello all,
No, not a hyacinth bean. :-) |
passiflora_pink
Indian Springs, AL
(Zone 7b)
May 17, 2007
12:57 PM Post #3507608
| PS Farmerdill "Blue Beans" is the name she told me not "purple beans" as I first said. So maybe that goes in favor of Blue Peter. I see her every few months so I will see if I can jog her memory. |
WUVIE
Hulbert, OK
(Zone 7a)
May 17, 2007
1:13 PM Post #3507652
| Hmm. Maybe Purple King
or Blue Coco Pole? |
ButterflyChaser
Northeast, AR
(Zone 7a)
May 17, 2007
2:23 PM Post #3507866
| I just planted some of the Royal Burgundy beans around my porch. I thought they'd be pretty there and I can eat them too. The red-purple pods will be a nice contrast to all the green.
NancyAnn |
Hemental
Waynesboro, MS
(Zone 8a)
May 17, 2007
2:44 PM Post #3507921
| All of the purple podded beans I have grown turn green when cooked. |
ManicReality
Houston, TX
(Zone 10a)
May 20, 2007
10:17 PM Post #3518396
| They are beautiful.. that must be neat to have a purple bean then cook it and watch it turn green.. like, they turn green when they are ready , hehe |
passiflora_pink
Indian Springs, AL
(Zone 7b)
July 18, 2007
12:44 PM Post #3750693
| Update; I just spoke to the couple who gave me the seeds. They said they have always known them as "blue beans" and that they were given the seeds by a friend 30 years ago. They were told even back then that the beans were no longer commercially available. They have been growing and saving seeds since that time.
I have some vines now from last year's seeds but they are not doing well. I planted them in a different area so they wouldn't take over my shrubs and fence...but there has been an extreme drought and also the deer have been after them. Hopefully I will have some beans to save for next summer. |
Eggs_Zachtly
Washington, MO
(Zone 5b)
July 18, 2007
5:24 PM Post #3751788
|
| Quoted: | | It looks a lot like the hyacinth bean vine seeds a friend gave me from her Mother in Kansas. The seeds we planted were dark black/purple. This thing grew like Jack in the bean stalk here, It sprouted up in 3 days and the vine was purple also. It was 3 feet tall in a matter of weeks. It's too hot here so they didn't last long. |
That's strange. I grow Lablab purpureus, and it really takes off when the temps get above 90. It may grow 2' a day, in those temps. It's also native to some of the hottest places on the planet. Are you sure it was getting enough sunlight (6+ hours a day), and a lot of water? |
cpartschick
Gladwin, MI
(Zone 5a)
July 18, 2007
5:34 PM Post #3751841
| I stumbled upon this. Back in the early '60s when I was a kid. I grew a patch of purple beans and took them to the market. They turned green when cooking and were very good. After some people tried them, they were very popular and I made some money on them.
We were always given one project of our own to grow and sell. This one was my favorite.
Thanks for the happy memory. |
passiflora_pink
Indian Springs, AL
(Zone 7b)
July 19, 2007
8:12 AM Post #3753936
| Eggs; last year it did grow like kudzu. This year there is a severe drought and no I haven't watered every day, and the deer have been grazing them. That is why they aren't doing well. I won't get enough to put on the dinner table but hope to get some seeds to save for next year. |
Eggs_Zachtly
Washington, MO
(Zone 5b)
July 19, 2007
11:57 AM Post #3754961
| I hate deer, except on the table. =) Good luck! |
SherryLike
SE Arky
(United States)
(Zone 8a)
July 19, 2007
1:30 PM Post #3755300
| I had some of those beans, I purchased the plants in Jackson MS and they were called 'the Thomas Jefferson bean plant' because, they told me, Jefferson thought they were so wonderful that he grew them year after year because he thought they were beautiful in every stage. Mine were okay, I saved the seed and failed to replant, drats. |
sanita
Brandon, FL
(Zone 9a)
July 19, 2007
9:04 PM Post #3756956
| I'm the author of the above mentioned quote. No, I didn't have them in ful sun, part shade actually. I did water them properly. The friend that gave them to me lives in the Orlando area and had the same results I did. We thought perhaps we do not have the proper overnight "cool down" some very warm climates do. It isn't uncommon for our overnight lows to drop only to the 80's this time of year.
I was hoping it was a keeper. No such luck.
Susan |
