'Doyce Chambers Greasy Cut-Short' Bean

Phaseolus vulgaris

Origin: Cherokee. Haywood County, Kentucky.

Improvement Status: Landrace

Seeds per packet: ~20

Germination tested 1/2023: 97%

Life cycle: Annual

Popularized by legendary Appalachian seed-saver Bill Best of Kentucky — who calls it "simply one of the best" and says it is consistently his bestselling greasy bean — this family heirloom pole bean came to him from Doyce Chambers of Bethel, Haywood County, NC. Greasy beans have smooth pods without hairs, and they are traditionally grown for both green beans and dry beans, but they find their highest calling as "leather britches," which applies to beans that are harvested the beans are plump but the pods are still green, then the whole pods are strung up to dry. In this way, the nutritious green pods and protein-rich seeds can be preserved all winter. When cooked up all together, they're like no other beans you've ever tried.

Greasy beans originated in western North Carolina, part of the homeland of the Cherokee people, so it's very likely that this whole class of bean has its roots with the Cherokee people.

Our seed was grown by the great Amirah Mitchell of Sistah Seeds in Emmaus, Pennsylvania.