Bohemian Bean

Dala Chizek of Cuba, Kansas, says the variety has been part of her family for at least three generations, possibly longer. Her Czech ancestry traces back five generations. “My grandparents grew them,” Dala recalls. “They always had an enormous garden. We have been eating these beans for as long as I can remember." Dala’s older sister, Glory Ann Chizek (1954-2005), inherited the gardening gene from their grandparents and faithfully grew and saved seeds from it throughout her life. Before her untimely death in 2005, Glory Ann appointed Dala as the “keeper of the beans.”