Sonoran White

Living in the low desert makes gardening challenging during the summer months, but I really wanted something growing in my garden. I decided to try Sonoran White Tepary beans because they are drought tolerant. I watered them well in the beginning, but once established, I haven't watered them more than once every couple of weeks. The only additional water that they've gotten is what fell during a 5 minute long monsoon storm. The bean plants are very hardy, but I would recommend shade cloth for them if gardening in extremely hot areas. They grow very quickly, and I've trellised them. I'm really looking forward to having the beans from these plants. I will be planting more of these next year.

In 2022 we planted these in a 12 foot row and they clambered over a short trellis almost buckling it with thick vigorous vines of delicate little bean leaves. We collected tons of dried beans that Fall. This year I didn't directly plant them but some volunteer seedlings came up and shared a spot with our sweet potatoes. Going to plant some in 2024.

The first try did not produce any beans. We figured that the cement nearby was cooking them to death. The second try, we moved away from the cement. We followed all of the directions from Native Seeds and other research that we did. These died. We are very puzzled as to why our most native Sonoran Desert crop failed to thrive. If anyone can offer some help, it would be greatly appreciated.