‘Sacaton White’ Tepary Bean

Phaseolus acutifolius

When I first read about Tepary beans, I was gobsmacked. A bean that grows in the desert?

Yes, indeed.

Commonly grown in the Southern US and Mexico, Tepary beans thrive despite drought stress and high heat, producing comforting dry beans for fall and winter. They succeed when the common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, fails. The pollen of common bean becomes sterile around 30° C — a failed crop if flowering happens during high heat – but Tepary beans pollinate successfully up to 40°C.

Tepary bean plants send out multiple short vines that sprawl on the ground or up a low trellis. They grow furiously and mature beans quickly in full sun and a warm spot. Sacaton White produces small, flattish beans that are very easy to harvest and clean. The leaves are fascinating to observe. They are very dynamic and responsive to the weather.

Northwestern Mexico is the centre of domestication of Tepary beans. This happened somewhere between 4,000 and 6,000 years ago. Tepary beans have been an important cultural food of the Tohono Oʼodham people of Southern Arizona-Northern Mexico for thousands of years.

Growing:

Full sun is required. Choose a warm location. We have grown them in both sandy and heavier soil and they seem to do fine in both – yields better in loamy and heavier soils with good structure than in sandy soils if not irrigating. 

We recommend direct seeding tepary beans. Plant after there is no chance of frost, and around the time you would plan regular beans. For us on the west coast, that’s usually around mid-May. Plant 1/2” deep. Space plants 1–2’ apart in rows. Irrigate very well after planting seeds. This variety (and perhaps all Tepary beans) is susceptible to damping off, so do not mulch after planting. If you receive summer rains, keep unmulched.

Giving advice on irrigation for this crop is tricky. According to Native Seeds/S.E.A.R.C.H, “Tepary beans are one of the few crops in the world that have been documented to produce lower yields with increasing amounts of water. They will produce copious amounts of vegetative growth, but lower rates of pod set in overwatered conditions.”

We have grown these twice without irrigation on a south facing terrace we call The Desert (the soil is poor and it’s hot and dry.) We have also grown them twice on quite sandy soil with a small amount of irrigation. My advice: irrigate very well when you plant. Then observe the plants growing. If you see signs of water stress, such as wilting or obvious nutrient deficiency, try irrigating. I imagine there is a sweet spot where a small amount of irrigation is beneficial, but too much decreases yield. 

Harvest when the majority of the pods are brown. Cut or pull whole plants and dry further. You can also harvest pods right off the plant. Once they feel “crispy-dry,” thresh plants by dancing on them on a tarp or crunching by hand. With a light provocation, the dry pods split apart and release beans. Remove large plant debris and use air current to blow away chaff. This can be done by pouring the bean/chaff mix in front of a fan, blowing with an air compressor or leaf blower, or even using your mighty breath!