soldier beans

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GardenBear1

New Member
I'm looking for a place to buy seeds , they might have a different name but this is what we called them back home, my mom use to make soup with them and I can't seem to find any place to order them , I can find ones in the markets but don't think they would grow if planted
 

Dor

Active Member
My father used to love my mother to cook what we called speckled butter beans. She would also mix them in her frozen soup mix and in the winter it was delicious. I would like to grow some in his memory but can't seem to find them. Does anyone know the correct name or a site where I can get some?
 

Randy

Super Moderator
Staff member
Oh, Miss Dorothy, my sister-in-law just loves those things and my brother grows them in his garden. I can either get some from him as seed or find out where he gets the seed. He works in a garden center down in San Jose, California so he might even have the seeds at the garden center. I'll get in touch with him right away. By the way, I really like those speckled butter beans also.
 

Randy

Super Moderator
Staff member
GardenBear, I'll bet those from the market would grow for you. Buy a few to eat and plant a few of them. Or you can check them by using a damp napkin for moisture and try germinating some in the house. I have read about the method, haven't done it myself so someone else can chime in and give a better description of the process. I used to have some things called Petri dishes that were used to grow cultures in the laboratory, but I no longer have them. They would be ideal for testing germination rates. They were a round plastic dish about 4 inches in diameter and about 3/4" high with a loose fitting plastic cover. That kept the moisture from evaporating too quickly and you could see when the roots started to form. I should check E-Bay or something and see if I could locate some of those again. In the early days of working in the laboratory, the Petri dishes were glass, but the plastic dishes were much less costly and less like to break.
 

Dor

Active Member
Thank you Gloria, just let me know how much to send you. I am looking now for cream peas online too. I want to have a good garden this year.
 

Flower4Yeshua

Super Moderator & vegemm
Staff member
Soldier is from befor the 1800 it is a dry bush type bean ...it is an heirloom seed...
Quote from Victory Garden
"Soldier Bean (European Soldier Bean)
100 days — Well known in early New England, this heirloom bean is great as a baking or soup bean. The name is from the markings near the eye that resembles an 18th Century European soldier. White with reddish brown markings around the hilum or eye. In France, this bean is known as 'Haricot St-Esprit à Oeil Rouge' or 'Holy Spirit in Red Eye' bean. About 40 seeds per ounce" Here is th elonk to buy from them

http://www.victoryseeds.com/catalog/vegetable/beans/beans_dry_bush.html
 

Kya D

Active Member
I just called the company (prucell farms) and even though they sell the beans for cooking the lady I talked to said that they would grow and produce.
 

sfishergirl

New Member
The tenting thing works great we use it here for alot of different seeds. you fold a paper towel so it fits in a sandwich baggie. Get the paper towe wet and wring it out then open it up part way and set your seeds in and then fold the paper towel back over the seeds put it in the sandwich baggie and fold over the top of the baggie and set it on the window sill. I check ours once a week. Once the seeds sprout I put them in dirt
 

Crabbergirl

Super Moderator
Staff member
Just one more bean! Dixie Lee wow what a producer and you can either snap or shell. I like to use young snaps in with my shelled beans. They are like a white acre pea. My neighbor gave me a bag year before last and I got hooked!
 

Gloria

Super Moderator
Staff member
I plant Dixie Lee and Purple Hull, both are good with the tender snaps and good producers. My favorite is Dixie Lee. These are also good as dried peas and you can save seeds for the next years planting.
 
K

Kale

Guest
A quick search
http://www.mainegoodies.com/gourmet/driedsoldierbeans.shtml


http://www.westbrae.com/products/heirloom/esb.php


I have sown beans that were soaked in water .Hubby soaked too many and I didn't want to just compost them so I sowed..I grew kidney beans and Northern beans that year! It was a really fun project!
They soaked in water for over 24hours by the time I got to them.
I imagined making $$$ but then lost interest*lol I couldnt believe how many grew*LOL
I have tried the wet paper towel idea,waited days for results,got bored with it and I lost interest.It was a little fun to try...:)

Glad it works for you Fishergirl:D:D:D


Kale:)
 

Dor

Active Member
Oh, Miss Dorothy, my sister-in-law just loves those things and my brother grows them in his garden. I can either get some from him as seed or find out where he gets the seed. He works in a garden center down in San Jose, California so he might even have the seeds at the garden center. I'll get in touch with him right away. By the way, I really like those speckled butter beans also.


Thank you so much Randy. I would so love to have some. I remember my daddy really loving them but my mother didn't like them if they were not in the soup. My daddy ate them with his okra. I used to say I didn't like a lot of veggies that I do now.
 

Randy

Super Moderator
Staff member
I did the same when I was younger. The thing that changed my taste more than anything was the navy years. I couldn't raid the refrigerator and I had a choice to eat what they cooked or do without. I e-mailed my brother, but I haven't heard back from him yet. I also invited him to check out the forum here. I think he would enjoy it and would also be a good resource person. Not only that, but if he came aboard, I would no longer be the oldest person on the forum. He is 82 years old.
 

Randy

Super Moderator
Staff member
Miss Dorothy, I got an answer back from my brother. I am going to cut and paste his message to me as it has quite a bit of information in it.

I can give your friend (or you) my source for the seeds. I order them online from Vermont Bean Seed Company, www.VermontBean.com. I also receive their catalog and I am looking at the appropriate page as I write---page 9 under Pole and Bush Limas. This is a pole bean and in the catalog is called Florida Butter Speckled. In the description it mentions that in the South, this bean is well known as Speckled Butterbean. The item number is 01234 and a packet is $2.10 plus S & H. Toll Free phone is 800 349 1071. I did save some seed, but I could only spare a few, which I would be happy to do.

I know I would enjoy participating in the Garden Forum but I just don't have the time. I don't even get my e-mail read, but thanks for the info.
 


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