A Blue Jay bean plant grows at Shirley Bellows's property in Mill Bay, B.C. She and a network of Canadian gardeners decided to preserve Blue Jay beans in this country after she learned that seed companies had stopped providing them.Photography by Chad Hipolito/The Globe and Mail
Blue Jay beans had all but disappeared from Canadian gardens, until a seed saver and her grassroots network revived it. Their success illustrates how to save plants that might someday save us.
Growing food from your own seeds is an empowering act of optimism, says Tamara Clement, a suburban gardener in Sudbury, Ont. What is a garden, after all, but the promise of a bountiful future? “You are planning and anticipating good things to come,” she says. “It’s a wonderful perspective.”
Here’s how to get started growing your own Blue Jay beans, according to expert seed savers around the country.
Your garden doesn’t need to be grand
You need enough room for a 1.5 metre row of beans, more if you want some to eat fresh. With the right care, seeds can be saved from plants grown in urban backyards and community gardens. “Any ordinary gardener can make a difference,” says Shirley Bellows, a seed saver on Vancouver Island.
Mrs. Bellows holds a dish of Blue Jay bean seeds.
Start with some good beans
Blue Jay beans are easy to find online – thanks to the work of diligent seed savers. You can buy them from a number of small seed companies, or from a gardener on the Seeds of Diversity seed exchange. “This is the golden age of messing around in your garden with seeds,” says Jennifer Sanders, a seed saver in Meaford, Ont. In the past, it was hard for growers to get rare heirloom seeds, but now an online community of seed savers makes getting both seeds and knowledge easy.
Give your beans room to breathe
In a city, you can use containers to grow your beans, says Cape Breton seed saver Michelle Smith. Just make sure to water them often. Plant at least 40 dried beans, she says, to ensure a healthy population. But don’t put them too close together; when the pods dry out in the fall, crowding can cause mould or fungus to develop. Ms. Smith recommends seven beans every 30 centimetres, and each row about a metre apart.
Give your beans a head start
To guarantee a long growing time, especially for regions with a late spring, Mrs. Bellows suggests starting your plant indoors, on damp paper bags in open, sandwich bags, placed near a window. This also saves space in your garden, she says, by avoiding empty spots if a seed doesn’t germinate.
Mrs. Bellows readies her garden for the busy season ahead. She prepares seedlings indoors first, an increasingly important step in Vancouver Island weather she's found has gone 'haywire' in recent springs.
Don’t let your Blue Jay beans get too cozy with others
This is how nature created the Blue Jay bean in the first place. “Beans don’t cross pollinate easily,” says Ms. Smith, but certain pollinators – such as sweat bees – are “very determined.” Bees can carry pollen from one bean flower to another, with unexpected results. Make sure other varieties keep a 3-metre distance –although 6-metres is even better. “It gives you an excuse to talk to your neighbour,” Ms. Smith says. Another solution: collaborate to grow Blue Jay beans together.
Go ahead and pick some green beans to eat
But designate at least 20 plants for seed, Ms. Smith says, since there won’t be enough time to grow a second batch by fall.
When the leaves have turned, collect your beans
In the fall, once the plants start to yellow, pull the plants out, roots and all, says Ms. Smith. Hang them to dry in a shed or garage, to finish ripening out of the rain. Around November, pluck your pods and shell them. Store the beans in sealed mason jars in your basement, or a cool closet – saved for winter soup, or growing again next year.
How did The Globe and Mail fare with its own Blue Jay bean garden? We planted a seed in early April, then documented what happened for 27 days in thousands of photos. See the results here.
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