Romano II Italian Pole Bean

Flat pods with large, meaty beans, grown by my family for four generations. Very hardy, grow at sea level to at least 7600 feet elevation. Short history: My maternal grandfather, Nicolangelo Capraro, worked at the Rocky Mountain Seed Company on weekends during the Great Depression. It took three jobs to support his family of five children. In his older years, he grew enough of these beans to feed them to his children, their spouses, and thirteen grandchildren as part of a pasta dinner every Sunday. I remember Grandpa saying, “Mangia! Mangia!” (“Eat! Eat!”) as Grandma was spooning beans onto our plates. While eating and watching us eat the beans, he always said, “God bless the fagioli.” (Fagioli is beans in Italian). Older family members grew them until 2001, then there was a 10 year hiatus until my son started. I bought seeds for his birthday in January, 2011 and Rocky Mountain Seed went under in March. I began growing them in earnest in 2016. For the whole story, email me.