Seed Profile Ganymede Butterbean

With late summer upon us, our bean vines in the fields are hanging full of dry pods that are ready to be picked and shelled out for culinary purposes as well as seed stock. Here at Blackberry Farm, a number of our old varieties are named after the families who have grown these varieties over the years and have preserved the seed through the years.

The Ganymede family has been growing the Ganymede butterbean since the 1800’s, and is one of the many butterbeans grown at Blackberry Farm. This variety is a prolific producer filling a large number of baskets with the dried pods that are ready for the shelling process.

This type of butterbean has a striking appearance including a white background that is flooded with beautiful streaks of red overlay and black mottling. The Ganymede butterbean makes a beautiful display item if it is stored in a glass container.

John Coykendall, Master Gardener