Did you participate in Seed Library One Seed Pima County program? We started it as an opportunity for us to share the experience of planting, growing, harvesting, and appreciating one specially chosen, regional plant. We decided to start with Brown Tepary Beans. They’ve been grown by native peoples of the Southwest for thousands of years and have become super drought tolerant, heat loving, easy to grow, and they're self-pollinating, so they're perfect for beginning gardeners! They're also delicious and can be cooked in lots of different dishes.
Library staff have planted some tepary bean seeds, as well. We wanted to share some of our successes and some of our *ahem* less than stellar attempts. You never know what might happen, but that’s the fun of trying!
“You may not want to publish these,” Debbie from the Himmel Library admitted. “The first picture is when the beans first came up and looked so cute. They grew to be about 6 inches tall and then one by one got eaten by tiny bugs that left only these bare stalks!!! Happy bugs, sad tepary bean plants.”
Geoffrey sent these in from the Santa Rosa Library garden. Looking good!
Susannah from River was a bit embarrassed to share, as well, but says, “I’m consoling myself that maybe I started later? The third one is an example of what NOT to do. The pot was put in an area that didn’t get enough sun and they got too leggy. I’ve stopped watering and will just let them die off – not good for seed saving.”
These are from Amy at the Oro Valley Library and Rachel from El Rio – also looking fantastic!
Sarah at the Martha Cooper Library also has a nice crop of beans growing.
And these photos are from Toby and Sandy at the Joel D Valdez Main Library!
Edible Baja Arizona highlighted other community members' journeys in Voices - asking them why they grew tepary beans this summer. The article is filled with gorgeous photos.
If you're growing brown tepary beans, at harvest time, please set a small amount aside and bring them to any one of the many drop-off spots around town to be combined with the harvests of others:
Any of the Pima County Public Library locations
Native Seeds/SEARCH retail store, 3061 N. Campbell Avenue Campbell Ave.
Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace Mission Gardens located at the base of A-Mountain off at the corner of Mission Road and Mission Lane (Saturday mornings only)
Community Food Bank Garden Program, 3003 S. Country Club Rd. Tucson AZ 85713. Please note, seeds are available regular business hours Monday-Friday 8am-4pm in their office located in the 2nd floor of the building.
If it's your first time donating seeds to our Seed Library, here's our FAQ on the simple, three-step process, complete with printable donation forms.
What kinds of success have you had with your Tepary Beans? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below …