The pole beans we grew this year are Cherokee Trail of Tears, an heirloom variety of black bean that were, according to oral history, carried from North Carolina to Oklahoma during the forced relocation of the Cherokee tribe . They got off to a slow start for us early in the summer, but throughout August and September they've been producing really well: As they ripen, the bean pods turn from green to this gorgeous purple color. This makes them much easier to find among the vines than regular green beans! When I first opened a pod, I was surprised to see that the beans are actually purple instead of black, like tiny eggplants: As they dry, the color darkens up a bit. We spread the pods out on the porch counter to air dry, which makes them much easier to shell. Once you sit around and shell a bunch of them, they pretty much look like a bowl full of shiny black beans: The beans above are not the whole harvest. There are still some drying, still plenty on ...
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