Sow these beans every 10 to 15 days right up until two months before your first frost, and you will enjoy aconstant supply of these delicious beans. It is important to keep Red Swan bush beans picked regularly, because seed formation slows down and eventually stops production. To stop disease, be sure you keep good air flow between the plants, and try not to water overhead and get the leaves wet. Bean seeds might rot in cold, damp soil, so be prepared to replant them. Red Swan seeds will germinate in six to 10 days. Plant the seeds an inch deep, four inches apart in rows two to three feet apart. Sow your Red Swan beans and they will not only provide their own fertilizer but will leave a lot of nitrogen in the soil for later crops. These bacteria will actively take atmospheric nitrogen and change it into a usable fertilizer for the bean plant. This is a safe bacterium that lives on the roots of legumes and helps in the growth and production of beans, peas and peanuts. Red Swan bush bean seeds are often available at local nurseries and garden centers, or by mail from Vermont Bean Seed Company ( or phone 80), or Sand Hill Preservation ( Treat your Red Swan bean seeds and all bean and pea seeds with a garden inoculant. RED SWAN BEANS FULLBecause they will grow and produce beans in about two months, Red Swan bush beans are ideal for planting in midsummer for a harvest later in the season.įor best results, plant in full sun after all danger of frost has passed and the ground has heated up. Red Swan beans are amazingly prolific, pumping out crops of beans in just 60 days. The beans will turn bright green when cooked. Served raw with dips, Red Swan bush beans add a colorful addition to the table. In fact, these beans can do double duty as an edible ornamental in the flower bed. Even the flowers are beautiful, delicate bicolor pink and white. The four- to five-inch-long flat beans are similar to the famous Italian Romano beans, with just as much flavor. Red Swan beans (Phaseolus vulgaris, variety Red Swan) have striking, pale-red, flat pods on short, compact plants. While few of us can house a herd of swans (yes, they are called herds as well as flocks), we can grow swans in the garden. Baby swans are cygnets, and a group of flying swans is a wedge. The male swan is called a cob, and a female is a pen. But these gentle giants are among the largest flying birds, able to fly 60 miles per hour. Red Swan is a newer variety, an open-pollinated bean that was bred out of a cross between a pinto and a purple podded bean, and makes for delicious fresh eating.Think of swans, and you probably think grace and gentleness. More than just pretty, these beans have an added value that no gemstone can provide: eating them makes your heart healthy. The flavor is deep and earthy, similar to that of a Romano type. Perhaps Lobitz bred this bean to be a jewel as elegant as a swan. The plants are quite striking, having bi-colored flowers that pop over the foliage, making Red Swan a great choice for edible landscaping, as well as a unique offering at the market booth. The dusty pink color ranges from pale rose to deep magenta, with a bit a green in the background, giving them an iridescent appearance. Look closely: each one is different, and some are reflective, colorful, fit to be set as a pendant. Dedicated life-long bean breeder Robert Lobitz once said, "Beans are a poor man's jewels." You may have experienced that heart-felt sentiment when admiring a handful of beans.
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