Are tepary beans a viable staple for other parts of the world?
Indigenous peoples who lived in the Southwest learned what worked through centuries of trial and error. Most of us have lost, or never had, those skills. One of the proven staples of the Southwest was the tepary bean, Phaseolus acutifolius. The name possibly originating from the Papago “T’pawi” meaning “It’s a bean.” Also known as yori mui, pavi, tepari and Texas bean, it originated and still grows wild in some areas of Mexico and the U.S. Southwest. It is the only bean we’ve found that can tolerate the high UV factors, heat and low humidity of the Chihuahua Desert.
One of North America’s oldest agricultural crops, the tepary has been identified in 8,000 year old archeological digs. By 1701 it was the principal crop raised at the mission Nuestra Señora de los Dolores in New Mexico.
Tepary beans are more drought and pest resistant than the common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, and is grown in New Mexico, Arizona and Mexico to Costa Rica. Requiring 16 inches of water to grow without irrigation, tepary beans need supplemental water in the Chihuahua desert, particularly if you want a good germination rate. A couple of years ago I threw out some beans in an area I planned to plant and forgot about them. This year, with the extra rainfall, I have volunteer bean plants.
With a small amount of extra water to germinate and a well designed catchment system, tepary beans are a good choice for the backyard gardener. There are various varieties in blues, browns, light brown and light green, different shades of white and mottled. They can be bought and traded over the Internet. Wild teparies are viney, up to 10 feet long. The cultivated varieties are generally bush types, or semi-viney, growing to a height of about three feet.
Tepary beans are high in protein from 20% to 27%. The beans, usually five or six to a pod, are small and resemble a small butter or navy bean. The pods are about 3 inches long, green and somewhat hairy. When dry, the pods are a light straw color.
Some research findings in the US and Mexico indicate that lectins, and other components of the beans, may be effective as a chemotherapy agent for cancer treatment.
We’ve found teparies take three hours or more to cook and aren’t quite as tender as pintos, even after sufficient soaking and cooking. We cook ours and most other foods, weather permitting, in our solar cookers. Solar cooked food is moister, more tender and has a better taste (no cooked in fumes from propane or natural gas). See my article on Associated Content for more information.
The tepary has produced yields of up to 700 pounds per acre without irrigation in areas where most conventional beans won’t even survive without supplemental watering. When tepary beans were irrigated, the same as the more popular varieties of beans, they equaled or exceeded the national average of 1,400 pounds per acre. With water shortages a reality and water allotments lowering almost every year, the tepary could prove to be an excellent backyard gardener’s choice. It might be a logical choice for water rights-flood irrigators as well.
In indigenous cultures, teparies are a two season bean, with early spring and midsummer plantings. Pima Indians sowed teparies when the mesquite bushes leafed out and again when the saguaro was harvested. For highest rates of germination, sources say the seeds should be planted about two inches deep, eyes down, and two to three inches apart. Highest yields are reported from rows one to two feet apart. People planting by moon cycles say the second quarter is the prime bean planting time.
Common sense tells us if we keep the weeds out of the garden, at least until the blooms appear or the plants cover the ground in a living mulch, we’ll get higher yields. If you choose the wild or viney type variety, they’ll require some type of support. Native Americans of the Southwest planted their teparies at the mouths of arroyos after the arroyos had been flooded by monsoon rains.
Teparies need to dry on the plant, they are not a bean that can be eaten green. After harvesting, place them in an oven, solar works great, at 200 degrees for 15 minutes or freeze them over night to kill any possible insects. That may sound like a lot of work, but that depends on how one feels about eating chemical pesticides and other poisons.
Beans, except for broad beans (Fava beans), are a good choice for people with diabetes. Low on the glycemic index, most beans are high in fiber and naturally high in vitamins, minerals and protein. High in food quality and low in price, beans are a good choice as a staple food.
Be aware, because of supply and demand, tepary beans can cost ten times as much as pintos.
These southwest natives may be a good crop for other parts of the world that have the same growing conditions.
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