I popped open a bag of Masienda’s Ayocote Pinto last night and was delighted by what I found! I’ve set aside a baggie with a small handful to plant.
I know Joseph has talked about planting soup-bean mix and there’s a big thread at Permies about this, but I thought it was worth mentioning here to see if you all have clever grocery-intended seed sourcing stories. (And I had to share that picture somewhere!)
Several years ago, the woman here cleaned out the pantry and found a bag of pinto beans that had been there a long time. I didn’t expect a high germination rate but planted them with a bunch of other stuff just for cover crop/soil improvement. I ended up not using that spot as intended because those beans took off growing and produced a very nice harvest. I’ve had good luck with a lot of grocery store acquired seeds. Beans, cowpeas and popcorn especially.
I have grown ayacote beans from Rancho Gordo. They had types I haven’t seen in any seed catalog - specifically solid purple ones like in this mix. They have a lot of interesting bean varieties and buying a pound is a great way to see how I like the taste, then plant a few.
I recall a while back Masienda had a statement on their website that the corn was “not for seed” or something to that effect, to protect the growers. Looks like that isn’t there any more. It probably just encouraged people to plant it!
This is how we started growing mung beans several years ago! Also grew black chickpeas from amazon this way, though they struggled in the wet and fungal friendly conditions. I didn’t know enough to save their hard-won seed at the time.
Also have some njahi and cranberry bean growing indoors, and a number of other varieties from a local Indian grocer. I like being able to see the seeds before I buy so I have a better idea of what I’m getting. I about fell out when I saw these cranberry beans.
If I can keep the sourcing organic and national that’s usually preferable because then I have a higher degree of confidence that they haven’t been irradiated
