Hobbs Goose

Pole. Beautiful, pure white seeds with a splotched dark magenta pattern surrounding the hilum. Fully expanded dry pods measure 3.8-4.8" long and average 0.6" wide. Pods mature to cream and constrict around the large seeds, creating a striking appearance. 5-6 seeds per pod. Strongly climbing plants with dense, dark green foliage. Vigorous. White flowers with a faint pink banner. Reportedly a tasty snap and shelly bean; dry beans starchy and mild flavored. Fair productivity when grown in 2023 at Heritage Farm. Late-season maturing. A family heirloom bean stewarded by Dr. Clinton & Olive Hobbs of Kent, Ohio until Clinton's passing in 2009. As the family story goes, an ancestor named Absalom Hobbs, discovered the bean seeds in the crop of a goose which he'd shot in Lee County, Virginia in the Appalachian Mountains. Absalom planted the seeds and the beans became a family favorite. Generations of the family continued to grow the variety in Tipton County, Indiana when Hobbs descendants migrated there in the 1830s and 1840s. This variety was used by the family as a snap and shelling bean. Dr. Clinton Hobbs became a Biology professor at Kent State University in 1945. He was a Master Gardener and shared the beans with a few trusted friends such as Lynn Vogel, also a Master Gardener. Lynn has stewarded the beans since the early 2000s and helped keep them in circulation in the community near Kent, OH. Kristin Pool, a local farmer and manager of the Kent Free Library Seed Library shared this bean with SSE in 2019. SSE Accession # 133706