????October beans???

[kentuckyhippie]

has anyone ever heard of october beans? I had some once that a lady brought from germany but lost my seed years ago. they were a large round white bean that you let stay in the garden until Oct than took the dried pods off the plant and shelled them. the beans cooked real quick, sure would like to have some more of them

[turtlehead]

I'd never heard of them. I did a google search for "october beans" and it looks like they go by a lot of different names, including horticultural, french horticultue, shell, wren's egg, bird egg, and speckled cranberry.

You can order them from Cooper Seeds; scroll all the way down and it's the last entry on the page. They're called Dwarf Horticultural Long Pod Bush Beans there. What a mouthful!

[Ravenlost]

My mama used to grow October Beans. I haven't had any since I was a kid. Just might grow some myself! Thanks for the reminder, and for the link!

[Paula]

Here they call them "Dwarf Horticultural." They're fat white beans with cranberry streaks. The Italians call them Borlotti (sp?) beans and make some fancy dishes/soups with them.
The locals call them shelly beans when they're picked when mature but still green. They are wonderful whether eaten fresh or dry. We grow some every year. Our farmer's co-op sells the seed in one pound packages.
I don't know of any other bean that has so many different names.

[WisJim]

Since beans are easy to grow and the seed is easy to save, many varieties of beans have multiple names, so it is hard to say if your "October" beans are the same as any elses with the same name.

[Paquebot]

They can be just about any snap bean after one tires of freezing, canning, or eating fresh. You stop picking and the beans only produce one more setting of pods. Left to themselves, the beans mature. Then pick them as shell beans before they are completely dry. That's about October when that happens! Some varieties are better than others and you need to look for dual-purpose types. If you find one listed as both snap and dry, it's also usually good as an October "shellie".

Martin