STONE SEED PRESERVATION: Beans - Some Things About Them

Heirloom Bean Seeds: More Precious than Gold

from the archives - March 17th, 2011

There is no stronger force than necessity, and few necessities are stronger than the need to eat. As times grow tougher and money grows tighter, those who are wise will make themselves as self-sufficient as possible where basic needs are concerned. Food is at the top of that list, and one of the best ways to deal with than need is to lay in a store of bean seeds – preferably of heirloom, non-GMO varieties.

Beans – one of the New World’s best gifts to the human palate — are a delicious, nutrient-dense food source. They are easy to grow, simple to preserve and store, and can be turned into delicious meal very quickly by even the least talented cook.

Cultivated in what is now South and Central America for millennia, some kinds of beans were actually used as currency by many Indian cultures, including the Aztecs. Today, as the dollar’s value erodes, grocery bills skyrocket, and food supply chains grow unreliable, bean seeds are an investment that may eventually be worth more than gold. After all, you can’t eat precious metals, and although burying junk silver in the ground may protect it from thieves, it won’t yield a crop. Bean seeds offer a much better yield.

Heirloom bean seeds are pedigreed varieties that originate in a time before the use of pesticides and herbicides. Like valuable jewelry or works of art, heirloom seeds are treasures passed down from one generation to another. Most of them are at least 50 years old; some heirloom bean seeds can be traced back to farm plots tilled by Thomas Jefferson and other American Founders.

Non-hybrid Heirloom bean seeds are natural, rather than being the product of genetic engineering. Bean seeds categorized as genetically modified organisms (GMO) can include seed hybrids and even “chimeras” – seeds that have been re-engineered to include traits from other species, such as a GMO tomato strain that incorporates the “anti-freeze” traits of an arctic fish in order to make it frost-resistant. We don’t know enough about the science to understand fully the trade-offs involved in that modification. Furthermore, non-hybrid, non-GMO bean seeds can be recovered and re-planted, thereby preserving the pure strain and enhancing the farmer’s self-sufficiency.

Besides, organic, non-GMO bean seeds, like other heirloom varieties, simply taste more like food; they have the full flavor many of us remember from our youth.

Heirloom bean seeds come in scores of varieties – including snap beans, pod beans, and bush beans. Any variety of heirloom bean seeds — from the common string bean, the much-misunderstood lima bean to the more familiar pinto, navy, and black bean – is worth acquiring in bulk, and can still be purchased relatively cheaply. They can be cultivated alongside corn and squash, and are perfectly suited for urban homesteaders and others looking to achieve self-sufficiency.

beanseed.org

what are beans?

beans are Any of various twining herbs of the genus Phaseolus in the pea family, native to the Americas, having leaves with three leaflets and variously colored flowers, and widely cultivated for their edible pods and seeds.

bean symbolism?

Bean is a symbol for Protection, cleansing, renewal, Reconciliations, possibilities, Potency and Love

Native American Symbolism: Beans are one of the Three Sisters of the northeastern tribes, so called because corn, squash, and beans were traditionally planted together by Native American farmers.

Beans are also used as a clan symbol in some Native American cultures. Tribes with Bean Clans include the Hopi tribe, whose Bean Clan is called Murzibusi.

Click here to read stories of indiana bean legends

Some eastern tribes, like the Lenape, Shawnee, and Iroquois, also have a Bean Dance among their tribal dance traditions.

Pearl Barley—Love

Split Peas—Joy

Black Beans—Peace

Red Beans—Patience

Pinto Beans—Kindness

Navy Beans—Goodness

Lentils—Gentleness

Black-eyed Peas—Self-control

https://www.guideposts.org/better-living/positive-living/emotional-and-mental-health/secret-meaning-of-beans

Why You Should eat beans