Lowell Zirbel Flat Pod

Pole, snap bean. Green, flat, wide, Romano type pods. Good flavor but slightly tough and astringent. Would benefit from cooking. Also very good as a dry bean; plump, smooth, earthy, and sweet. Pods reach 5-6" long, 0.7" wide and are slightly curved. Pods develop a purple-red blush as they mature. 4-6 seeds per pod. Seeds are small, oval, and tan with faint light yellow-brown stripes. Tend to be hard seeded. Plants are strong climbers. Pink flowers. Vigorous. Moderate productivity when grown in 2016 and 2023 at Heritage Farm. Mid-season maturing. Donated to SSE in 2014 by Lowell Zirbel of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. Lowell began growing and saving seed from this variety in 1974, the year he received it from friend, Lillian Karch (now deceased) of Madison, WI. Lillian only told Lowell that she had received the bean seeds from one of her renters. SSE Accession # 132360