those are names I have never heard of. are they edible?

Yes, they are all edible. These are all in the Phaseolus genus and specifically are in the group of common beans that we grow to eat.

fusion_power,

I would love to see a photo of the Purple Emerite after it makes pods. Please.

What kind of soil is that?

Dar,

There seems to be something interesting going on here but I am not knowledgable enough about tepary beans to know the significance of these crosses. Can you give us a little background info?

Jim

Jim, they have high levels of disease tolerance to common bean blight. They also carry a few other traits I am interested in evaluating.

Shuf, I will try to remember to post further pics of the purple emerite. It should be an interesting line to pursue.

DarJones

Because I garden in sandy, droughty soil, tepary beans caught my eye. It seems to be adapted to dryness, so I obtained some seed. I haven't grown it yet. Would you expect tepary beans to have an advantage in this soil?

Jim

Jimster, yes, some advantage, but if you read the literature, tepary beans have an advantage only in extreme drought. They are not IMO useful as a pure species. This is why I am growing some of the advanced generation selections.