Notes on Ruth Bible Pole Bean

[macmex]

Over the years I have had a fascination with Appalachian beans, and this, in spite of the fact that neither I nor my wife hail from the area. However, early in our marriage, my wife's grand aunt and uncle gave us seed to Tennessee Cutshort, which originated in the Appalachians. The first time I grew Tennessee Cutshort I was impressed with it's productivity and vitality as a variety. The pods made wonderful snaps and the seed was large and more rounded than other beans I had been accustomed to. Aunt Clara's aunt (Olive Stroup), who gave them their start of seed, told them that this bean was grown "all over the South."  So, as the years went by, and I grew Tennessee Cutshort, I developed some curiosity about that bean and other similar varieties which might exist, and have arisen in the same general area (somewhere in Tennessee).


Tennessee Cutshort Seed


Shortly after we moved to Oklahoma (2005) I had correspondence with Gene Hosey, who, though he lived in Washington D.C., had roots in Kentucky. Gene asked me if his mother's heirloom bean might not be the same as Tennessee Cutshort, as it had rounded, brown colored seed. I thought it was unlikely, considering all the beans "out there," but Gene sent me a sample of seed in 2007, and upon growing it out, I was amazed how similar it was to Tennessee Cutshort. I couldn't tell the two apart! Gene commented that his family got their start from Eddie Childers of Merrimac, KY (Taylor County). When I looked it up, I saw that Merrimac was quite close to the Tennessee border. I thought, "I bet that's close to wherever Olive Stroup's relatives lived!"

This got me started on the idea of growing some more beans, with similar descriptions, which hailed from the Appalachians. In 2007 I not only grew Childers Cutshort but also obtained seed of Ruth Bible, a Kentucky heirloom which I had read about, and which appeared to be somewhat similar to Tennessee Cutshort. The earliest reference to Ruth Bible I had seen was in the 1984 edition of the Seed Savers Exchange fall yearbook. It was being offered by three people, all in Virginia.

Here are the listings, modified only enough to make them more intelligible to someone unfamiliar with the Yearbook's format. 

VA MC J (Jeff McCormick in North Garden, VA) 52-70 days, Bouy's family heirloom, Kentucky, 1832, tender 3.5" pods, slight strings, brownish - tan seeds, samples to two mid-Atlantic SSE members who will reoffer, O.S. VA MI B (Benny Michitti in Carrollton, VA)

VA MI B (Benny Michitti in Carrollton, VA) 65 days, brown seed, tender hull with strings, Kentucky heirloom strain over 150 years old, seed from West Virginia.

VA PU R(Ruth Putnum in Syriam VA) 100 days, heirloom bean traced back to Kentucky to at least 1832, pods 3.5", best picked when small, high climbers, 84 VA MC J

I grew this bean in 2007, and according to my notes, I never grew it again, until this year. However, the jar of seeds in my freezer, from which I took my stock this spring, has a label which reads "Ruth Bible 2010." I guess I must have grown it in 2010 and neglected to take notes. 

Here are my notes on Ruth Bible, grown near Tahlequah, OK (drought year).

Planted Ruth Bible 5/5/2007 first planting
Started flowering a tad later than Childers and Tennessee Cutshort
6/19/2007 Planted a second planting of Ruth Bible (one pole)
7/5/2007 first picking of Ruth Bible
7/8/2007 Tried eating pods. Ruth Bible pods seem to toughen up a bit earlier than do Childers and Tennessee Cutshort. Pods are longer, more slender and more round. Ruth Bible continued flowering and setting pods longer than either Childers or Tennessee Cutshort, which began to dry down by the middle of July.
7/23/2007 First dry seed, 79 days

I stashed the harvested seed on my seed shelf and nearly forgot it. Life was really busy and... I'm not a very organized person. My impression of Ruth Bible was quite good. It was vigorous and not only produced well, it made a lot of seed.  But I got over extended and failed to grow it out, at least until 2010, and definitely not again until this year.

I continue to have an interest in these kinds of beans, especially from that part of the world.

Why? Well, for one thing, they are uncommon and not enjoying a lot of favor in the general gardening community. Most folk run with more common varieties, such as Blue Lake Pole, Fortex or Kentucky Wonder (which really doesn't do that well in our neck of the woods) I mention this in a blog I wrote: When Beans Don't Produce. 

Another reason I love these beans is that they are so extremely productive and practical. Their snaps are nice, large and fat, making it easy to "pick a mess" for supper. Even though they have strings, they are faster to prepare than many varieties, due to their larger size. They are super tender, being of the tender hull kind. And... they all have a HISTORY!

Ruth Bible was grown and preserved by the Bouys family, somewhere in Kentucky. They had this seed since at least 1832, long before the Civil War. Obviously, they thought it was a good bean. I heard and read of the variety for 23 years before trying it.

This spring I ran across the jar of seed and thought, "I really need to grow out this bean." I need to get to know it better." So, I planted it in a small garden I have at work.

I planted a patch of Ruth Bible on June 10, in its own little garden. The picture is from June 17. I had trouble with wrens or some other small bird nipping of the seedlings. So I did have to replant some poles. 


This picture was taken August 16, 2009. Ruth Bible has grown very vigorously. In fact, this time around, I observed that Ruth Bible "throws out its arms," looking for more support. This tendency to extend itself horizontally is unique. I've only observed this characteristic with Tarahumara Pink Green Bean. It makes Ruth Bible a super vigorous bean, which I suspect would do exceedingly well, grown on the edge of a cornfield. 


Ruth Bible is extremely productive, which is a very good thing! It truly meets one of my favorite criteria for a garden variety. I like to ask, "If this was the only variety of this vegetable, could I be happy growing it? With Ruth Bible, I can definitely say "yes."


Here's another picture of Ruth Bible, bearing pods. Notice that these pods get knobby. That is a characteristic of many Appalachian beans. Folk there are suspicious of beans that don't look like that, as they enjoy having the seed in their snaps. Ruth Bible fits this slot very nicely, though, a person could pick it earlier, if they wanted to avoid having seed. 


This is what Ruth Bible Seed looks like. Notice that there is more variation in shape than in Tennessee Cutshort seed. Yet, it is similar. This is a bean which could be raised as a dry bean, though I probably wouldn't do it. It would be a bit of work to shell. Still, it has the potential to be an all purpose bean, with its strong suite as a snap.

I've done some searching on the internet, and it's obvious that Ruth Bible is not currently popular among gardeners. I will continue to grow it out and share seed. Hopefully, this fall, I can send seed to Sandhill Preservation Center. As the Drowns are so very good at preserving and offering these old varieties. They don't care if they're not popular, they keep them going!

[macmex]

 I did a blog on this bean. Here's the link to it. Ruth Bible Pole Bean

[macmex]

Here are a few more notes on this bean.

It would make a good shelly bean. This means the beans could be left till nearly mature, and then shelled out of their pods to be eaten like peas. I tried shelling some when the pods were fully mature yet still moist. They shelled easily.



First dry seed was at 73 days, but I got my first sizable harvest of dry seed at 78 days. The vines continue to flower and set pods, but now I'm getting mature seed in quantity. I chose not to harvest snaps from this planting, as I want SEED.



Finally, here's a photo of some of the pods which are more knobby than others. There is some variation in this variety.

[macmex]

Here's a photo of some fresh seed. It dried on the vines but still needs several weeks of drying time before it can be sealed in a jar or bag. Notice the various shapes of seed. Also, the lighter color is due to the freshness of the seed. It'll darken up with time.



Another observation: I don't know if it has something to do with our recent rains, but there has been as much as 10%  of the seed sprouted in the pod before I shell it it. The pods appear to be protecting the seed from the rain, so I am not sure why this is happening. 

[macmex]

The sprouting seeds must simply been on account of the unusual amount of rain we had been having. I've picked dry pods from this planting a number of times, over the last few weeks, and had no more problem with sprouted seed in the pods. I keep wondering when this one will stop producing. Childers Cutshort, which I have planted at home, gave up weeks ago, even though the vines  looked good. Of course frost hit my garden at home on October 12.


Ruth Bible, however, is in a more protected location. It continues to flower and set MORE PODS! Over a week ago I went out and gleaned a coffee can of pods, both dry and in the snap stage.  I thought at the time that would be the last of them. Yesterday I went out and picked yet another coffee can full, leaving many, for the simple reason that my can was full! Ruth Bible truly has no "cut off switch." It just produces until killed by frost. 

Just from yesterday's gleaning, I snapped enough pods for two hearty meals, for the three of us, and shelled out enough seed for a nice large planting of beans, as in enough for the needs of a family of four, if that was all the beans they planted. I'm guessing I ended up with slightly over 2 cups of seed, and there's more out there!

As we enjoyed fresh snaps beans, last night, I savored every bite. I was, once again, impressed that the pods could be yellowing (aging) and yet cook tender. The seed could be full size and pop out of the pods when cooked, and yet both the pod and seed were succulent and tender.

Ruth Bible is a superb food producer, and comes as close to being a good dry bean as any bean I've known, which is also good for snaps. 

[macmex]

Well, I've picked large "messes" of this bean, three times, each time thinking "This is it, we're done." I picked a large batch of pods and seed off of the plants yesterday. The vines were still flowering even though they looked ragged. This is wonderful production! I'm positive that yesterday is the last picking, unless the garden where they are growing (11 miles away from our home) was at least 5 degrees warmer than our place.

Here's a photo of the Ruth Bible Pole Beans I had with my lunch. Notice how the nearly mature pods split and produce "shelly beans" which are also tender and delicious mixed in with the snap beans.

[macmex]

Observation from 2019 grow out: Ruth Bible's pods DO NOT toughen up faster than Tennessee Cutshort or Childers Cutshort. They remain tender until the seed is quite viable. This is one of its virtues as a snap.

Also, I should add that there is variation in the pods of this variety. Some are definitely cutshorts. Some definitely are not cutshorts. All show the same vigor and good eating quality.