Calico Willow Leaf Pole Lima

[macmex]

“Heirloom,” what is an heirloom vegetable variety? Some seed companies, apparently wanting an advantage in marketing, have begun labeling all open pollinated varieties as “heirloom.” This is not correct. As I understand it, the term “heirloom” indicates that a variety has been maintained primarily by a non-commercial source, such as a family or a community. There are some very fine open pollinated varieties which were developed by seed companies or universities. Technically, they are not heirlooms, at least according to some folk. But this can get confusing. Suppose a given family purchased seed for Rutgers Tomato, back in 1945 and maintained their seed stock up through 2015? Is that an heirloom? The variety was developed by Rutgers University and sold commercially, after all! Yet, somehow, such a scenario somehow “feels like an heirloom situation.” Perhaps it would be unjust to deny the label to this seed stock. “Open pollinated” means that a variety is not hybrid, being easily be reproduced by seed. The term is not so romantic as “heirloom,” but I submit to you, that one ought not to neglect saving seed of any good open pollinated variety, just because it might not have originated as someone's family heirloom, decades ago. In fact, somehow, it seems to me, that if you save such seed for decades and the variety becomes an old friend to you, it might not be such a bad thing to refer to it as “your own heirloom.”



I might call Calico Willow Leaf Pole Lima one of “my heirlooms.” I don't know anything about its origins, other than that I obtained seed from Jack E. Rice of Laurinburg, NC; back in 1985. That year I grew it in my Winona Lake, Indiana garden, noting that of the row I planted, some plants had regular type leaves and one plant was a bush. I rogued out those which were not of climbing habit and with narrow willow leaves. (Actually, the leaves look more like bamboo leaves.) After that, I never saw a single off type in any grow out. I don't know if this variety was Jack Rice's own breeding development or if my original seed was crossed. It produced dry seed in 116 days.

Once again, I grew this variety in my father's NJ garden in 1986 and, in 1987, I planted it behind our apartment, in Edinburg, Texas, which is practically on the border with Mexico. During the summer of 1987 my family and I traveled in Mexico, leaving the garden unattended and with no irrigation during the hottest, driest months of the year. Temperatures regularly peaked above 110 F. And yet, when we returned in late August, we found Calico Willow Leaf still growing! This variety can handle heat!
In 1988, we moved to Tlatlauquitepec, Puebla, Mexico, which was in a high cold rain forest. Plus, for the next several years our lives were exceedingly unstable. We were literally fighting for our lives due to adjustment and health issues. I lost this seed. I had sent seed to the Seed Savers Exchange, probably sent it to a couple of members of the Seed Savers Exchange, and I left samples of my entire bean collection with my father, in New Jersey. He grew everything out, for several years, before having to quit on that. It was a very large undertaking. At one point he took a mix of all of the beans from my collection and placed them in a glass jar, using it as a base for a homemade lamp....

Around 1998 I was back in New Jersey (from Mexico), visiting my parents and happened to be sitting in their living room next to that lamp. I spotted a few seeds of Calico Willow Leaf, and it occurred to me that since my last listing of this variety, in 1986, I had not seen anyone offer this bean! I asked permission, opened the lamp, and sorted through the seeds, which by this time were at about 10 years old. I managed to get find six of them. I took them back to Mexico, and planted them in 1999. One or two grew. I was delighted! However, just when the vines had green pods on them, I had to go away on a trip, and upon my return I discovered that some kid had yanked up the vines and run off with them through the school's cornfield I was horrified! I was MAD! I set off, tracking the kid through the cornfield. He had too much of a head start, for me to catch up with him. But at the opposite side of the field I did find about 18” of vine, hanging by a cornstalk. It had gotten hung up and broken off of the rest of the vine, as the kid fled with my beans. There were three or four pods still attached to this scrap of vine. The seed was viable,... and new. I had my new start of this seed. I saved about 10 seeds, only gettingto replant them in 2003. By 2003, we had moved to New Jersey. My planting was late, and my harvest was small (but bigger than any other in the last 16 years!). New Jersey had a cool wet summer in 2003. It took 130 days to harvest dry seed. I planted more in 2004 and obtained a really good harvest.

I first planted this variety in Tahlequah in 2007. It did quite well here, producing dry seed in 96 days and masses and masses more flowers around the third week of October (too late for seed).

I planted this one, again, in 2009, having a close call, as the first jar of seed I tried didn't germinate. I had to replant on June 26. But it did make seed. I also grew it in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2015. (Note: 9/4/2020: I know I've planted it since, but failed to put it in my notes. It's in my 2020 garden.)

Calico Willow Leaf Pole Lima, and several other cultivars have taught me a couple of lessons about seed saving. In brief:

1) Always share your valuable seed with others, preferably many other gardeners.
2) Never completely trust others to keep your seed going.
So, is Calico Willow Leaf Pole Lima an heirloom? I think so. And, after 30 years, I'll call it my heirloom! You too, can adopt a garden variety and make it “your heirloom.” Really, a variety is good in and of itself. But the history behind it makes it more valuable to the one growing it.

[john]

George, what a great story. I would really love to grow some of the Calico willow Leaf pole lima next year. Do you have enough seed to share? If so just let me know and I can mail out a stamped bubble envelope to you. My email is [e-mail]

[philagardener]

Love that lamp story! Some seeds make it through the most amazing challenges!

[shamrock4]

I love this story! I am hopefully going to be growing this variety next year once I get my hands on some seeds.

[john]

George I harvested the calico willow leaf beans tonight with my son. What a tremendous yield they gave. They easily out-yielded all the other lima types I grew. Our summer has been very warm and dry, the beans never received any extra water. I don't know if I just got lucky because our weather was so ideal, or if they will do this well for me every year. Thanks for sharing the seed, they are very unique. My Dad was growing some beans that he got from a commercial seed house. He called them willow leaf lima's. I went to see them, they were nothing like yours. His had white seeds and much broader leaves. I think he got his from Shumway's. Definitely not the same thing.

[philagardener]

It has been a good year for beans in my garden too, although limas are still late to mature and we have having some wet weather now (always a problem just as things are drying down). Not so good for tomatoes, however.

It's always something that does well and something that doesn't. If only I were better at guessing!

[macmex]

Homesteading Edu will be off line in 2022 due to financial and time considerations. Here's the text of the article I referred to, just above here.


How does one "make an heirloom?" Sounds kind of difficult, or perhaps like a farce. I remember walking through the ruins of Teotihuacan, in Mexico, and having vendors offer me honest to goodness"authentic archaeological souvenirs." These were trinkets manufactured nearby, made to look old. But they were copies of the real thing, not authentic pieces. How does one "make" an authentic heirloom vegetable variety? It can be done.

To make an heirloom one must start out with an open pollinated (standard) variety.


A hybrid won’t reproduce true to type, therefore it would be exceedingly difficult to maintain as an heirloom. “Open pollinated” is used synonymously with the term “standard,” meaning that it produces seed which then grows into the same variety as its parent. It is stable. It has to be in order to make an heirloom variety, which will take time.
I joined the Seed Savers Exchange in 1984. That first year I was enthralled with getting seeds through their yearbook. I requested seed of Calico Willow Leaf Pole Bean (a lima) from Jack Rice of Laurinburg, NC. Its description intrigued me. I grew it first in 1985, while living in Warsaw, Indiana. That year I learned that this bean was either crossed or not yet stabilized. I got a few seedlings which did not have the “willow” type leaf and one which was a bush, not a climbing bean. I eliminated the off types and saved seed of the climbing willow leaf plants. The second thing I learned that year, was that my wife really does not like limas!  Jerreth complained if I even cooked some for myself.


“Willow leaf” refers to the long narrow shape of leaf, rather than the usual heart shape.

To make an heirloom one needs to grow the variety for a good while.

When Jerreth and I went to study Spanish, in Edinburg, Texas (1987), I managed to plant this bean in our apartment’s back yard. We traveled in Mexico, most of that summer, leaving it unattended for months without rain and temps up to 110 F. Yet it was alive when we returned from our travels, and I harvested seed from it!


Our family in 1987, while visiting the Bible Institute where we eventually served.

Soon after our family left to serve as missionaries in Mexico I lost this seed. First, we lived where it would not grow. By the time we moved to where it would grow, my personal stash had expired. During these years I never saw this seed offered through the Seed Savers Exchange, but my father did grow it, at least a couple of times. After a while he had to stop growing beans. For the fun of it he made a lamp, using a clear jug for the base and filling it with assorted beans from my old collection.

To make an heirloom the variety needs to develop “a story.”

Link: What is True Heirloom Gardening?

In 1998 I came up from Mexico and visited my parents for a couple of days. While sitting in their living room I glanced over at a lamp… and spotted some “old friends.” It suddenly struck me that I had not seen this bean offered in the Seed Savers Exchange Yearbook since I had offered it. Looking carefully, I spotted a couple of the seeds. My folks told me I could take the lamp apart and retrieve some seed. I did. I flew back to central Mexico with six seeds of Calico Willow Pole Lima which may have been as much as 10 years old. Shortly after getting back “home,” in Hidalgo Mexico, I planted those seeds. Two came up and grew.


Just before these beans produced mature seed my family and I had to leave for a two week trip. When we returned and I checked the garden I found that these two plants were missing! Some shepherd boys, from the land adjacent to the Bible Institute, had raided my garden. In the loose soil I saw their foot prints, how they had run in, snatched what they could (my bean plants) and run out, through the cornfield, hoping not to be caught. My heart sank. Then I became angry. Why these beans? which were possibly the last of their kind in the entire world!

I decided to track them…

I followed their tracks to the other edge of the cornfield and saw where they had slipped through the fence. They were gone. I couldn’t follow them off our land. Sadly, I was about to go back to the garden, when I spotted something laying in the weeds by the fence. When they squeezed through the wire a piece of vine had broken off and fallen to the ground. I picked it up and found three or four intact, dry pods attached! I shelled out 10 seeds! In spite of the catastrophe of the shepherd boys, Calico Willow Leaf Pole Lima’s worldwide seed stock had increased five fold! All the seed we have for this bean is now descended from those ten seeds, which came from that one broken piece of vine.

This bean is still extremely rare. I have spread the seed around and am now sure that the Seed Savers Exchange has it in their seed bank. I grow it about every other year. There are a lot of memories attached to it.

I haven’t tried eating this one since 1985. Wonder if my wife would mind if I cooked some….

[macmex]

I shared seed of this bean with a number of people in the last year, and somehow, last winter I misplaced the jar of seed I had. All I could find by Spring was a small packet of frozen seed. Thankfully I had that. So, I bumped this one up to be grown out this year. I need to renew the seed.

May 14 I planted about 8' of Calico Willow Leaf Pole Lima on a trellis behind our shop. It'll be the only lima I grow this year, so it'll be well isolated.
I am so very glad that others are growing this bean. It's an uncomfortable feeling to think one might be the only one with a given seed, and that it could get lost.

Here's a picture I took on June 1. They're looking good!

[chrysanthemum]

I’m glad you’re getting a chance to renew the seed of “your heirloom” this year. It has such a special history! I have never attempted to grow limas down here, though I imagine they’d do just great. It’s the trouble with my limited space.