Pole Bean
Cherokee Trail of Tears Bean is a pole bean carrying one of gardening's most profound stories. This heirloom variety memorializes the Cherokee people's forced removal from their southeastern homelands to Oklahoma in the 1830s, a devastating journey that killed over 6,000 people. Despite unimaginable hardship, Cherokee families carried seeds with them, including this shiny black bean that became a living symbol of survival and cultural continuity. Growing 65 days to harvest in zones 3 through 11, it climbs vigorously on trellises and produces beans for fresh eating or dry storage. Every pod you harvest carries the resilience of those who refused to let their agricultural heritage disappear.
Full Sun
Moderate
3-11
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This black pole bean carries immense historical weight, preserved and passed down by Dr. John Wyche, a Cherokee tribal member, dentist, and dedicated seed saver from Hugo, Oklahoma, who ensured the variety didn't vanish with time. The plant thrives in full sun with moderate water and adapts across nearly the entire continental United States, from zone 3 through zone 11. Its 65-day maturity fits comfortably into most growing seasons, and the vining habit means it climbs naturally when given support, maximizing garden space while telling a story of cultural persistence.
Cherokee Trail of Tears Beans are grown for eating fresh as snap beans during their immature stage, or left to mature fully for dry beans suitable for storage and cooking throughout the year. The dry beans, with their distinctive glossy black appearance, are used in traditional soups, stews, and bean-based dishes. Both the fresh and mature forms celebrate the versatility that made this bean valuable to Cherokee farmers, who could harvest and eat young pods or allow them to dry for winter sustenance.
Direct sow Cherokee Trail of Tears bean seeds into warm soil once frost danger has passed and soil temperature reaches 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Plant when nighttime temperatures will not drop below 55 degrees, as seeds may rot in cold soil.
Harvest young pods as snap beans when they are tender and the pods snap cleanly when bent, typically within the 65-day window. For dry beans, allow pods to remain on the vine until they turn brown and papery, the seeds rattle inside when shaken, and the pods are fully mature. Pick mature pods before the first frost and cure them in a warm, dry place for several weeks until beans are hard and dry, then shell and store.
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“Cherokee Trail of Tears Bean memorializes one of the darkest chapters in American history. In the 1830s, the federal government forcibly removed the Cherokee nation from their ancestral southeastern homelands, forcing them west to Oklahoma on a brutal journey that became known as the Trail of Tears, claiming over 6,000 lives. Amid the devastation, Cherokee families carried what little they could, including seeds. This shiny black bean was among those seeds, preserved through generations as both a food source and a tangible connection to the homeland left behind. Dr. John Wyche, a Cherokee tribal member, dentist, and devoted seed saver based in Hugo, Oklahoma, played a crucial role in documenting and sharing this variety, ensuring it remained part of Cherokee cultural heritage and became available to gardeners everywhere who want to grow and honor this story.”