The Turkey Craw Bean from the Cades Cove Garden

This summer’s theme at Blackberry Farm has been the Cade’s Cove Garden, which features crop varieties that were either grown on Cade’s Cove Farm or are varieties that were grown around the area from 1819 until 1934. One of the beans being grown this year is the Turkey Craw bean, whose origin dates back to 1802. Legend has it that a hunter killed a turkey and found a bean seed in the turkey’s craw, which is located between the bird’s esophagus and stomach and is used for storage. This old variety has remained popular through the years with farmers and gardeners in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and North Carolina.

The turkey craw bean is often planted with field corn or as a pole bean. This variety is excellent at all stages of development because the young pods of the bean remain tender up to full maturity when the pods finally fill out with mature shelling beans. This variety is a favorite of mine, which is why I always have some in the pantry. Not only is the turkey craw bean a favorite for canning, it is also a wonderful meal to enjoy on a cold night throughout the winter months.

John Coykendall, Master Gardener