Marfax Bush Bean Seeds | Shell & Dry Beans

Grow Marfax bush beans for a classic pantry harvest. The medium-small, rounded beans dry to a golden-tan color and have a rich flavor that suits baked beans especially well. Pick them plump for shell beans, or leave pods to dry for beans to store and cook later.

What to expect

• Type: Bush bean for shelling or drying
• Bean color: Golden tan
• Kitchen use: Baked beans and other cooked-bean dishes
• Growth habit: Bush; tender plants do not survive frost

Planting and care

Direct sow after frost danger has passed in a suitable garden bed. The existing growing guidance recommends 3–4 seeds per foot in rows 24–30 inches apart. Keep the soil moist as plants establish and avoid handling wet foliage to help limit the spread of fungal disease.

Harvest and storage

For shell beans, pick when the beans are plump inside the pods. For dry beans, allow pods to become dry and hard on the plants; the beans should resist a fingernail press. If heavy rain or frost threatens before they are fully dry, finish drying picked pods in a sheltered, well-ventilated place before shelling and storing the beans.

Available sizes: 30-seed packet, 100-seed packet, 1/4 lb, and 1 lb. Imagine a cool-weather pot of baked beans made from the harvest you shelled yourself.