King of the Early Dry Bean

A great mottled red heirloom dry bean! Quick to produce and prolific. 70 days to maturity.

Direct seed 5cm deep, 5-8cm apart as soon as soil is warm, in rows 45cm apart. Thin to 15cm apart. Don’t need staking. 8-16 days to germination. For dried beans, stop watering when the pods first start to dry. Harvest when all pods are dry, then store in a dry place with good airflow out of direct sunlight to dry completely before shelling.

Certified organic in British Columbia. IOPA # 1606, 1105, 1920.

How to Save Bean Seed

For a detailed look at saving bean seed as well as more comprehensive information about seed saving, check out our Seed Saving 101 blog post here 

Fast Facts

Latin: Phaseolus vulgaris, Phaseolus coccineus (runner beans), Vigna unguiculata spp. (Chinese red noodle bean)

Cross Pollination: WIll cross with beans of the same species

Isolation Distance: 10 feet

Minimum Population Size (variety maintenance): 5-10 plants

Minimum Population Size (genetic preservation): 20 plants

Planting Beans

Plant beans as you would for fresh eating, approximately 6-12” apart. Trellis climbing beans. Set aside some seed plants that will be left unpicked. 

Seed Maturity

Allow bean pods to dry completely, then harvest either individual pods or cut entire plants and lay to dry on a tarp. 

Seed Cleaning

Thresh the seeds by laying the entire dry seed stalks on a tarp and stomping and shuffling on the plants to crack open the pods and detach the seeds. It’s important that seeds are very dry at this stage to prevent them being crushed by the threshing process. Shake the threshed material through a screen, allowing the seeds to pass through and the larger debris to remain on the top. Then, winnow using wind or a fan, pouring seeds from one container to another while allowing the lighter chaff to blow away. 

Get more bean growing tips and seed saving info at Seed Savers Exchange.