Terry Coombs wrote:
....
Until just a few months ago I didn't realize how many varieties there are
out there . Puzzles me that the only ones you see on the grocery shelf are
black eyes when there are so many much tastier options . I'm hoping to find
some others next year at the seed swap .

when it comes to beans there are many varieties.
the types you are talking about take a fairly long
season and so that means the growing region is
going to be smaller with fewer producers.

each bean variety that is mass marketed would
need it's own packaging and if the size is
different enough from other beans that also means
special equipment to plant/harvest/clean/sort/store
etc. and not all varieties grow out well enough
and have the right characteristics for mass planting
or harvesting (some types shell too easily and
others are very difficult, some rot easily, some
don't grow well in poorer soil or won't grow at all
in clay, etc.)

i don't think there's a huge amount of money in
growing beans and i'd say from what i see that there
is a limited market for new varieties so not much
money is put into developing more of them. i.e. the
market is fairly well saturated.

i have more varieties here than i can ever study
and test and i keep finding more each season.

this year i planted more of the staple varieties
we use the most (red, pinto, lima, yellow eye) to
rebuild stocks from last year's small harvest and
planted out some of the other crosses i've already
found so that i could cook some up to see if they
are worth continuing (at least two look promising).
it's the early harvest time yet so i'm sure more
surprises are in store for me.


songbird