Norwegian Pencil

Snap bean. Long, very round green beans have good texture but are slightly astringent; crunchy; somewhat dry. Late to develop a suture string. Pods are recurving, or slightly S-shaped. Pods mature to yellow and develop light purple mottling. Strongly climbing pole bean. Pods measure 7-9" long. Leathery podded dry pods. 6-9 seeds per pod. Unusual dry beans are speckled with light grey and have black stripes. They are long, thicker than they are wide, and kidney-shaped. Purple flowers. Non-pigmented plants. Hard-seeded. Intermediate productivity when grown in 2015 at Heritage Farm. Mid-season maturing. This variety has been stewarded by Evalynn Schnackenberg's family since the 1920s. Evalynn's grandmother, Maria Andreasen, moved to Ferndale, Washington from Robin, Minnesota in the early 1900s with her 11 children after her husband’s death. At some point around 1920, Maria received the bean seeds from the county extension office in Ferndale. She planted them, enjoyed them, and saved the seed to plant in following years. Several of Maria's children and grandchildren (including Evalynn) have grown the beans in the years since. The family named this variety 'Norwegian Pencil' partly after Maria's Norwegian heritage and also because of the shape of the bean pods. The family cans the green beans when they are about eight inches long. Donated to SSE in 2013 by Evalynn Schnackenberg of Washington. SSE Accession # 131789