HERB - Kidney bean thoughts - long

[RAISYA@aol.com]

Ras,

Sorry, not sure you saw the original posts several months back; I promised 
Jasmine the names of some specific varieties I felt were reasonably close to 
the period varieties and the seed companies that carry them.  I deliberately 
omitted many period vegetables for any of several reasons, a common one being 
that the varieties are so similar that people should chose the variety best 
suited to their own conditions.

For a couple of the specific ones you mention, I haven't (yet) found any 
period mention of a plant that can be unquestionably identified as either 
kale, collards or broccolli.  The common "colewort" of period is an extinct 
relative of those, and I have often recommended collards as a modern 
substitute, but it is NOT the same plant, so I omitted those.  I also omitted 
cabbage and spinach because I can't find a variety that looks like the period 
illuminations.

The problems produced eating by the lab-lab/dolichos bean seem to fit 
descriptions from the TACUINUM SANITATIS (however remember I'm not an 
herbalist), and the illuminations I've seen have been reasonably similar.  It 
even mentions the bean being used as an ornamental climbing plant to produce 
shade, which fits well.  The "kidney" bean appears as a medicinal rather than 
vegetable in the St. Gall plan. Although I can't swear to it, I believe I've 
seen an archaeological find that included lab-labs.  But I don't rule out the 
Chinese yard long, either.

A similar more fascinating mystery to me is the "vetchling".  It shows up a 
couple of times, grows upright like a soybean, but I'm not at all sure what 
it is.  Any thoughts on this one?

>there are places where period fruit varieties can be gotten for no more 
money than >regular fruit trees

Very true.  But I chose not to recommend any because very little of the North 
American climate is like the European continent.  For example, parts of the 
Pacific north-west may match parts of England and Germany fairly well.  But 
an English adapted apple may do very poorly in most of the US, and fruit 
trees can be a major investment in time and work.  Experimenting with annuals 
isn't usually a big thing, but putting years into a pair of $30 trees, then 
discovering that it always blooms before the last frost and almost never 
produces any fruit can be heartbreaking.  I'd recommend anyone who wants to 
try fruit trees is probably best off trying locally adapted varieties first, 
then experimenting with period varieties later after the orchard is 
established (and they have some experience).  That said, I have to admit I'd 
be tempted to start with a couple of period ones side by side with a couple 
of modern ones to ensure some harvest for the work :).

On a more practical note, I could only recommend these varieties based on 
other people's research, not my own, which I prefer not to do.

Hope this clarifies a little, and I hope to hear more about your research 
into plant varieties!
Raisya
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