Georgia Long

Brick red seeded long bean, by far best used for snaps. Pods reach 24" long, vines up to 20,' though they do fine on an 8' support. I usually grown them on 5' of cattle panel. This one has a fascinating history: we received our seed from MO/JO-V in 1987, as we were preparing to study Spanish and serve as missionaries in Mexico. I immediately shared some seed with my wife's grandparents in IL. During our first 5 years in Mexico we lost our seed, because of the cold wet climate of our location. So, in the mid 90s I got a new sample, probably from CA/FU-M, with whom I I left sent samples of all my beans. So we were growing it again by 1994. In 1997 our family returned for a year in the USA, passing by Grandpa and Grandma's. While in their driveway, Grandpa handed me a quart of this seed and asked me to "keep it going." He said they probably couldn't garden much longer, and had forgotten that they got the seed from us. Grandpa grew it a couple more years, placing rolls of the pods on a table in their side yard so people could pick up free green beans. Meanwhile we grew it in Hidalgo, Mexico and in NJ. In 2005 we moved to Tahlequah, OK. I thought one day to look up where MO/JO-V got their seed and discovered that they got ti from OK/ST-F (Faxon Stinnet) of Vian, OK. So, in about 20 years this bean had traveled a huge circuit, practically arriving back where it started and passing through the hands of multiple stewards! I once consulted with a very old and experienced seedsman, who was of the opinion that this bean is probably the same as Yardlong or Cuban Asparagus Bean, listed in the 1888 Burpee Catalog. He send me the catalog description, which indeed fits.