Cherokee Trail of Tears Bean

Phaseolus vulgaris Days to Maturity: 65-80 Cherokee Trail of Tears Beans have lovely, 6" purple & green pods encasing glossy black beans. A wonderfully versatile variety for eating fresh, cooked, freezing and canning. Pole beans enjoy climbing cornstalks or a trellis and reach up to 6 feet tall. Cherokee people carried these beans on the Trail of Tears of 1838-39, a forced winter death march from their ancestral homeland in the Smoky Mountains--where gold was discovered--to Oklahoma. An estimated 4000 Cherokee people out of the 15,000 on the march were killed. This variety was introduced to the public through Seed Savers Exchange in 1977, who received them from the late gardener, seed saver & dentist Dr. John Wyche of Hugo, Oklahoma. His Cherokee ancestors carried them on the Trail of Tears. Help us proliferate this culturally important and delicious variety. Planting Instructions: Sow Cherokee Trail of Tears Bean seeds directly in the ground 2" deep, 3" apart in spring after