Back when we were attending Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (SSAWG) conferences, we delighted in the seed exchanges that were held on one evening of the conference. On that night gardeners from around the south brought packets of non-hybrid seed that they had saved and would swap with seeds that you had. It was a great opportunity to get new varieties to try. We did the same with a gentleman in our town that gave us Louisiana Heirloom Sugarcane to grow as well as some seeds from the Tahitian Melon Squash.
A couple of weeks ago, we had the opportunity to have a seed swap of our own. We swapped a luffa gourd seedling AND some luffa gourd seeds (we were unsure of the germination of the luffa seeds) for some seeds that we had never planted before - Hyacinth Bean Seeds.
The seeds are distinctive, black, semi-flat with a white line running around half of the seed.
Here's a little I learned about the seed. Hyacinth beans are native to East Africa. They vine and grow 10 feet or higher. They have beautiful purple flowers and purple pods. They improve the soil fertility by setting nitrogen. Dried hyacinth beans must be prepared with care as they have a compound that is toxic. (We won't be cooking the dried beans!) On the bright side, these beans contain a compound that prevents the spread of Covid. Who knew?
I immediately planted three of the beans and got 100% germination. Even as small as the plant is, you can already see the purple coloration of the top of the stem. I will wait until the beans get bigger and then I'll transplant them in the garden.
Due to the vining of this plant, I'd like to plant it on a fence bent over so that it creates a tunnel to walk under like you see in the photo below. I'll have to figure out a way to keep the cows and goats from eating it, though.
The pods of the beans are bright purple - a real treat for the eye in the garden. Similar to other brightly colored items we've grown in the garden, when you cook them, they lose most of their color.
Here are the beautiful flowers that bloom on the Hyacinth Bean plant. This will be a real knock-out in our garden. I can't wait to show you photos once this thing gets established.
Seed swaps are fun and open your eyes to other things you've never thought about growing.
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