Remy, without a photo it's hard to tell; I don't get that publication. But I grew Trionfo Violetto this year, and it closely matches your description. It has become fairly popular too, so the chances of it being your bean are pretty good.

I haven't recieved my issue yet. Maybe it will come today. Rodger

Hi,
I was re-reading my mag and thought, "you know, I'll do a search on the author." Well, a GW post by GardenLad comes up with the author's name mentioned, John Yeoman, and a web site. So I go to the website and send an email asking if he was the author and what was the bean.
He sent an email back saying he was the author, and the bean is the black-seeded Cherokee Trail of Tears. There also was a photo of a green bean on the opposite side, and it is the white-seeded mutation of Cherokee Trail of Tears.
The funny thing is I received the regular black seeds in the spring from a GWer, but didn't grow any. I will definitely plant some next year!
Remy

Glad you traced it down, Remy. I still haven't seen my copy, so didn't know what you were referring to.

You do understand that Trail of Tears is best as a dry bean? The very young pods are ok as snaps, but they turn tough and woody fairly quickly. It's a pretty growing bean, though. Leaves and pods are a purplish green, with purple flowers. As they mature the pods turn progressively more purple. Beans are jet black when fully mature.

I had sent John the original Trail of Tears in his collection, along with quite a few other Appalachian beans that he's grown out successfully over there.

Some do really well. Rose (aka Coon) bean, for instance, which grows to about 9 inches for me, reaches almost a foot in John's paddock.

The white Trail of Tears seems to have been a mutation that first appeared at HDRA (among other things, the British equivilent of SSE), and which spread all over Great Britain as a result. For awhile it was all the talk at John's forums community, The Garden Guild.

I've only heard of it appearing once in the U.S. But, of course, it could be quite common and people just aren't talking about it.

Hi Gardenlad,
I thought it was funny how if I had mentioned his name from the start, you would of known how to contact him. Then a search brings up your name, and now you tell me he got the seed from you! lol. I did mention your GW name in the letter I wrote, but I do not think he recognised it.
Anyway, thank you for the additional info. When you get your magazine, I think you will see why I liked the way it looked. Even on newsprint, it is a very nice photo.
Is there a dish or type of dishes that it is traditional cooked in?
Remy

Just got my copy, and see what you mean about the photos. But if you look at the lead page there's one of Lilyphaire's geat paintings of---ta dah---Trail of Tears. And if you read the article. lo & behold, the first page is all about Trail of Tears, as is much of the rest of the story.

So you didn't really need us after all. :>)

No surprise that John didn't recognize my GW name. The only U.S. gardening community he's involved with is Dave's Garden. And lately, as busy as he is, I don't believe he spends all that much time there.

Hi, folks!

'Tis I, John Yeoman himself. I'm delighted that so many people have read my article in The Heirloom Gardener. Sorry the pictures weren't captioned and this lead to confusion. I'm delighted to acknowledge Gardenlad as the source of one batch of my Cherokee Trail of Tears.

I would like to correct one misunderstanding, however. The white-seeded mutation of Trail of Tears did not originate at the HDRA. They merely told me they had noted that it occurred, around the world, on occasion. The mutation that I stablised first appeared in my own garden. Certainly, it has not yet 'spread around England'. I doubt if more than a small handful of folk have even heard of Cherokee Trail of Tears in this benighted kingdom!

But I have passed seed to around 30 members of my erstwhile seed-share club The Village Guild and I know for certain that many folk are growing them on, as they have sent me samples of the results. To date, the sport is staying virtually 100% stable, it seems.

Sorry I haven't been conspicuous this past year on either Davesgarden or Gardenweb. I've been focussing on my own gardening site at The Gardening Guild: www.gardeningguild.com

(I hope the system administrators here won't mind my mentioning it?)

Thanks, again, for all your interest!

Here is a link that might be useful: The Gardening Guild

Thanks for stopping by John! Hopefully no one makes your post disappear, lol.
Remy

Well, well, well. Look who the tide swept in from a further shore. John, me boyo, what have you been up to?

Sorry about the confusion on the white-seeded TOT. My impression, from the discussion on your site, was that the seed that produced it came from HDRA, and the white just started popping up.

And, of course, I used "all over" in relative terms. Granted, the percentage of British gardeners who understand heirloom/heritage veggies is very small. And the number of those who grow American heirlooms even smaller. But the white TOT seems to have captured the imagination of that population.

People, we need to persuade John to hang around. Although he likes to play the clown, his knowledge is broad and deep. And he brings some unique insights, particularly when it comes to growing beans. John taught me, for instance, that the idea of not pre-starting beans is a myth.

Even more unique: Somebody ask him about growing beans in the loo!

"People, we need to persuade John to hang around."

Hear that John? I was thinking exactly the same thing, as were many others I'm sure. There is a growing group of beanophiles here and we're having a good time. Join the fun. Pop in whenever you can.

Jim

Hi John,

Slightly off topic species-wise, for which i apologize, but very much in the heirloom bean area, and could not resist given your British background.

Have been searching without success for a number of older scarlet runner pole beans in the US. With the exception of Achievement-Merit by Thompson-Morgan, can trace none of the following below. Would be most grateful for any advice or contacts.

Crusader
Giraffe
Long As Your Arm [RHS Award of Merit 1964]
Rajah
Streamlime
Yardstick [introduced by Dobie's of Chester.

Many thanks.

gautam

Crusader and Streamline

Here is a link that might be useful: Seeds by Size

Galina,

Thank you very much for the heads-up. Much appreciated.

gautam.

John Yeoman's "Gardening Secrets That Time Forgot" article, Page 9 mentioned a "powdered hartshorn (ammonia)" and I'm researching the origin of this. Ammonia itself is very inexpensive in the stores, so I'm wondering what it is made of, if I can plant something or dig something or ferment something to end up with hartshorn. I am hitting a dead end so far, so I am backing up to where I first heard of this and that is you. What can you share with me in your basis for this article that will get me back in a progressive direction?