Phaseolus vulgaris
Origin: Crimea (Krym), Ukraine
Improvement status: Landrace
Seeds per packet: ~20
Germination tested 12/25: 94%
Life cycle: Annual
This gorgeous bean was collected in Krym (Crimea), the southernmost part of Ukraine, in 2008 — some six years before Russia quietly invaded the peninsula — during a plant collecting expedition led by two Ukrainians (Dr. Roman Rozhkov of the National Center for Plant Genetic Resources of Ukraine, based in Kharkiv, and Dr. Vladislav Korzhenevsky of the State Nikitsky Botanical Gardens in Yalta, Krym), along with one American (Dr. Stephanie Greene of the USDA-Agricultural Research Service's Western Regional Plant Introduction Station) and, interestingly, one Russian (Dr. Alexander Afonin of St. Petersburg State University's Department of Geography and Agroecology). Based on what they donated after the expedition to the USDA's National Plant Germplasm System, they were mostly interested in the immense diversity of wild alfalfas and close alfalfa relatives found in Krym, along with the vetches, clovers, and other forage legumes and their wild relatives, but thankfully they collected a handful of interesting beans as well.
Zozulja seems to translate to "cuckoo" (as in the bird) in both Ukrainian and Russian, so it seems likely this bean would be called "Cuckoo Bean" in English, but we're not experts in either language so that might be incorrect. We don't know why it has this name. The bean is an indeterminate vining bean, capable of growing 10 feet high in a season, whose seeds are dark purple with a sparse pink dappling (and occasionally the reverse). Most of the seeds are long, like kidney beans, but rather more slender, and somewhat variable. They make a delicious shell bean, before the seeds fully ripen, but are an excellent dry bean too. Unfortunately, we've been unable to learn more about exactly where it comes from or how it's traditionally used, but it's a lovely bean and we're excited to bring it to you all.
Many thanks to our grower, Jason Mills, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
GROWING TIPS: Plant once soil warms in the spring, at the same time you might plant sweetcorn. Provide a good tall trellis.
