I inherited a subscription to "Colorado Bean News" published by The Colorado Bean Network. The editor is Howard F. Schwartz at the Department of Bioagriculture Science and Pest Management at Colorado State University.

A lot of it is more interesting to farmers, planting tips, economic information, technical stuff. But is always at least recipe using beans, and scanning the tech stuff, I find nuggets of interest, such as "Evaluation of Heirloom Bean Production in Northern Colorado," which is a study of the economic feasibility of raising these beans for commercial purposes. I'm not going to bore you with the details, but I enjoyed learning what heirloom beans types might grow at this altitude.

Christmas Lima Bean A lima bean variety also called Calico. It has a red and cream seed coat.




Flor de Mayo This small bean is native to Mexico and has seldom been grown in the United States.



Snowcap



Swedish Brown Beans



Amethyst Beautiful oval shape red-purplish bean. Very popular in soups and salads. Has a creamy texture and also good in salsa.



Yellow Indian Women Originally brought to Montana by Swiss imigrants. This rare heirloom is now common in Montana Native American communities. Resembles the flavor of Pinto or Black beans. Ideal for slow cooked dishes, holds its shape well.



Kronis Purple

Here they are mixed with a variety called Moonbeam.


Kilimanjaro Speckled Originally from the region of Tanzania famous for Mount Kilimanjaro. This large beige speckled bean is used in Africa for bean soup. Stays firm when cooked.



Here's a couple of excellent websites where you can read about and purchase various bean varieties, with photos as above, and descriptions. There are a lot more out there than I've listed here.

Purcell Mountain Farms



Seed Savers Exchange