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Vaquero Bean
Phaseolus vulgaris
These dry beans have beautiful black and white markings. Light and just slightly potato-like, they keep their shape and are one of our first choices for a chili bean. Makes a striking black pot-liquor, tastes great, looks gorgeous!
Senior Citizens from Centro Cultural’s Edad de Oro program with whom Working Theory Farm partners asked for these beans by name, reminiscing on their cute appearance and fantastic flavor. Having no direct connections with a seed saver of this variety I went to the world wide web in search of seed stock, however we look forward to offering PNW grown Vaquero beans for years to come.
Days to maturity: Green Beans: 50-60 days; Dry Beans: 90-115 days
Seeds per pack: 40-45
Germination rate: 99% on 12/09/2024
Planting / harvesting notes
We plant bean seeds in either one or two rows. 2” apart and 1” deep in beds receiving full sun that are 4’ apart on center after days are consistently “warm” (above 60F on average).
In our dry Oregon summers, where the dry beans can just hang out on the vine without risk of rain or mold, we harvest the bean seed once the fervor of other summer harvests has passed, usually in mid to late September.
Seed keeping notes
We process the beans by hand with youth from Working Theory Farm and the senior citizens from Centro Cultural, telling and listening to stories all the while. It makes the time pass quickly and I like to think it blesses the beans for those who will plant them next.
