Dragon’s Tongue – Bean Seed

Unique flashy heirloom.
Avg. 6–6 1/2″ flat pods are pale yellow with purple streaks. They are tender and sweet and good in salads or cooked. Purple disappears upon cooking. Tan seeds with dark speckles. Avg. 1,200 seeds/lb. Packet: 100 seeds.

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Phaseolus vulgaris
CULTURE: Choose well-drained soil with a pH range of 6.5–6.8. After last frost date sow seeds about 2″ apart, 1″ deep, in rows 20–36″ apart. Optimum soil temperature for germination is 70–90°F (21–32°C). Plant when daytime soil temperatures average at least 60°F (16°C), or risk poor germination. Inoculants can increase yields. For a continuous supply, make successive sowings every 2-3 weeks through midsummer. Dark-colored seeds germinate better in cool soil than white seeds.
DISEASES: Plow under or remove and compost bean straw in the fall to hasten destruction of most disease organisms. For Sclerotinia spp. (white mold) control, plant at wider row spacing to promote drying of plant leaves and soil. Practice a 3-year crop rotation, preferably into corn or grain crops. All our bush bean seeds are produced in areas known to be free of halo blight.
INSECT PESTS: Mexican bean beetles can be controlled with insecticides such as pyrethrin or azadarachtin.
HARVEST: Regularly to encourage new pod set.
STORAGE: Store at 40°F (5°C) and 90% relative humidity for 7–10 days.
AVG. SEEDING RATE: 1M/125′, 1 lb./175′, 116M/acre at 8 seeds/ft. and 3′ row spacing.
SEED SPECS: See individual varieties.
PACKET: 100 seeds, sows 21′.