Bush Dry Bean, Nez Perce (Organic)
Phaseolus vulgaris. Golden Brown. 80 days.
A light golden-brown, small dry bean rivaling other beans for early maturity. With its mild and creamy flavor, Nez Perce is a good all-purpose bean and is especially delightful refried. Very reliable and easy to grow in cool summer or short season areas. Short, half-runner bush plants show indeterminate growth but are easily harvested once most of the pods have dried down and do not need a trellis. As the name suggests, it is believed to originate with the Nez Perce tribe in Eastern Oregon and Idaho, however the bean’s history with the tribe is uncertain. Similar bean varieties were grown by tribes further east and the seed may have been brought by settlers to the area. Grown in northern Idaho in the 1930s by Henry Marcus Purnell and maintained for decades in Idaho by the Denny Family. Our strain of Nez Perce comes to us from seed savers Aline Crehore and Steve Trimmell, who run a small seed company here in Western Oregon called Green Journey Seeds. Similar to Indian Woman Yellow, but smaller and with a lighter colored seed coat.
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Direct sow 1″ deep May through June in rows that are 1′ apart. Thin seedlings to 3-6″ spacing. Protect early sowings from frost. Stop irrigating in early August. Harvest beans from pods that are fully dry. Shell by hand, by dancing, or by driving on beans spread on a tarp. Winnow to clean. Test for dryness with a hammer – dry beans shatter.
Seed Saving
Some cross-pollination may occur, but beans mostly self-pollinate. For more info on growing dry beans, check out our blog post at: seedambassadors.org/we-love-growing-dry-beans-you-might-too/
Prila McCol (verified owner) –
Where did you grow this variety? Oregon
These beans are delicious. They have an almost sweet flavor and are very creamy. Less starchy than pintos. I soaked mine overnight and then cooked them with garlic cloves and chunks of onion for 8 minutes in the pressure cooker. To serve I added just a little salt and some sliced red onion.
Though rated as a bush bean, they do send up runners–5ft or so. So I would say a semi bush bean. I will plant them with more support next year.
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