Description

Bean from Elortza
Phaseolus vulgaris

Bush dry bean. Small dark burgundy seeds to harvest when dry. Plant height 55 cm. Elortza is a village of 21 inhabitants (2022) in Spain’s Basque Autonomous Community.

Full sun, well drained soil. Direct sowing after the last frost or indoor sowing 10 days before. 2 cm deep. 15 cm between plants.

Germination: 99% in December 2025
Ecological seeds produced at Catherine’s Ornamental Garden

Note
Seeds of Basque origin were donated by Hugo Martorell of Sème l’Avenir. In 2023, as part of his work, Hugo went to the Basque country to discuss, among other things, the protection of ancestral varieties with the Red de Semillas Euskal Herriko Hazien Sarea organization. He brought back seeds of several varieties, including the bean from Elortza. Artisanal seed producers are very rare and varieties are kept by gardeners who eat them.

Elortza is a small village of 21 inhabitants (in 2022), part of a group of 6 hamlets in the Laminoria valley, part of the municipality ofArraia-Maeztu in the province of Alava in the Basque Autonomous Community.

A Basque delegation came to visit several Quebec farms in the summer of 2024, including ours, to see how things are done here.