~ DRYING / SHELLING BEAN Seed~

Drying / Shelling beans are grown for the seeds to eat, not the pods.
They have been selected for maximal seed production and the pods are thin - they’re not the bit we eat. Instead they produce large yields of nutritious seeds which you shell out and cook either fresh or dried. Absolutely fantastic in soups and stews!

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~ BUSH FRENCH BEANS FOR DRYING or SHELLING~

These are probably the simplest because you do not need to put up any supports and everybody knows how to grow French beans.

Jacobs Cattle Gold (BUSH, DRY)

A beautiful gold/white splotched bush bean, named after Jacobs cattle in the Bible. The original stock for this variety was obtained from the Passamaquoddy people of Maine - it is a widely adapted variety for dry bean seed production, and yields can be exceptional. Great winter staple for soups and chilli.

When we first got this, there was just one commercial seed grower left, and he has now stopped producing it. So we are maintaining what we can when there is room in our production schedule, with a just few small 'starter packets' available each year. If you like it, do consider saving your own seed to help keep this heritage variety alive.

Beautiful drying beans with a delicious flavour, does well for us in Wales.

Small starter packet (very rare!) of approximately 40 seeds, organic £

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Jacobs Cattle (BUSH, DRY) - NEW for 2025!

We are so excited to offer this again for the first time in twenty years. This is the original red version of Jacobs Cattle Bean from the Passamaquoddy people of Maine - a reliable and widely adapted variety for drying beans, with high yields. Use them overwinter dried for soups, stews, chilli or whatever you like. Such a beautiful bean!

The original strain, grown for us organically in the USA. Import was very difficult to arrange due to the UK's new Brexit seed rules, so do save your own seed for future use.

Small starter packet (very rare!) of approximately 40 seeds, organic £

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Yin Yang (BUSH, DRY)

These are so beautiful we had to add them to the catalogue! An excellent dwarf bean for baking, casseroles and soups. Extremely productive 15" tall plants are widely adapted and make beautiful black & white beans.

Although really for drying, can be picked very young as a green bean.

Small packet (rare!) of approximately 45-50 seeds £

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Stregonta Bush ( DRY and FRESH dual use)

An OUTSTANDING early bush borlotti bean from Italy, colourful pods with red stripes on a pale green background, ready in about 70 days from germination.

It is very quick to make loads of pods, and they can be picked young just like any french bean, a handful pictured here.

But then you can let them get bigger and use the seeds shelled out as fresh beans for cooking - when they have stong red spashes - just boil for 20 mins or so without soaking. Later the seeds dry to a darker tan colour for storage overwinter.

It's unusual among the drying beans in that it is dual-purpose and so it is excellent picked as a normal green bean as well.

Small packet (rare!) of approximately 50 seeds £

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Taylors Dwarf Horticultural Bean (BUSH, DRY)

This is a drying bean from USA in the early 1800’s with pods that have quite pale red stripes on a cream background. One of the beans that fueled American prairie cooking at the time, it makes excellent refried beans (add some of our locoto chilli pepper for extra kick!) or baked beans, as well as soups and stews.

It has a reputation for being quite reliable , tolerating brief wet and cold spells better than one would expect.

Small packet (rare!) of approximately 50 seeds £

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Einons Black Bean (BUSH, DRY)

A productive and resilient drying bean. Small tasty black beans ideal for chilies, soups & stews. A lovely variety given to us by Ann Owen of “Einion’s Garden” in mid Wales.

Did very well for us, as it has been selected for Welsh conditions for years.

Rare! Approximately 45- 50 seeds, organic £

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~ CLIMBING FRENCH BEANS FOR DRYING or SHELLING~

These are goood if you can be bothered to put up canes for them, you'll get more beans per sq m, & everybody knows how to grow French beans.

Lamon Borlotto (CLIMBING, BIG SEEDS, DRY)

A rare type of vine borlotti bean, which we have chosen for its big seeds. As with all drying beans, the pods aren't the bit you eat - they have been bred to put all their effort into making fat buttery seeds.

The plants grow to about 6ft and the pods are really pretty too, with red splashes on a pale green background.

Huge seed are delicious freshly shelled out, or dried and stored.

Small packet (rare!) of approximately 35-40 large seeds £

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~ "Edame" or SOYBEAN Seed ~

We have found a variety that does grow in the UK!
Soybeans are delicious when shelled out young and tender and boiled , served with a little butter and salt, or put in soups, stews etc.
It is the bean seeds you eat - 'edame' - not the pods.

Growing is pretty easy. You can grow them under cover and they yield earlier, but we have had good results outdoors too. Pretend you are growing bush french beans & you won’t go far wrong:

We start ours in small pots or modules to avoid mice eating the seeds or birds pulling them up as they sprout. Once a few inches tall plant out 10 inches apart with about 18 inches between rows. Let the pods dry until brittle on the plants and it’s pretty easy to get the seeds out. In bad weather you’ll need to cut the plants and bring into a garage or greenhouse to dry.

Gaia Soybean

A new short-season edame soybean - gorgeous black seeds, which - dependent on weather - often form a a thin emerald stripe up the edge. A great dual purpose variety - as tender and tasty as any green edamame when cooked fresh, but also can be dried.

Bred from a single plant discovered by Owen Bridge of Annapolis Seeds in 2010, we grow just a few packets each year.

small pack (rare!) of 45 organic seeds £

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~ TEPARY Bean Seed ~

Tepary Beans are an different bean species from western USA and Mexico dating to pre-Colombian times.
Grown for their dried beans rather than the pods, they are an ancient crop that can tolerate periods of drought.

Sacaton Brown Tepary Bean BUSH PLANTS, EXPERIMENTAL VARIETY

Kate has been experimenting to find tepary beans that will grow in the UK, as part of our need to diversify our food supply in response to the climate crisis - already we are seeing summer heatwaves and droughts on our farm here in Wales, which can only get more frequent.

Small, flat golden brown beans for dry use, traditionally grown by Native Americans in the desert Southwest. Although this is very much an experimental crop, we think it is worth persuing for when it gets too hot for normal french beans. Grow as normal for a bean, let the pods dry out, and then thresh them out for the protein-rich beans, which are soaked and cooked like any dried bean.

Needs moisture to get going, but will withstand dry periods once established.

small packet to start you off , approx 40 seeds, organic £

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