Dryland Bean Experiments

In 2020 we grew 3 x 80' rows of tepary beans with drip irrigation and harvested more than 20 lbs of brown tepary beans. We have never tried to grow tepary beans without irrigation. The tepary beans varieties we tried (blue speckled, black, white, and brown) all tasting good but they take a long time to cook. We used a pressure cooker to reduce cooking time but it would be better to find a variety that produces larger beans and cooks faster. The Cascade Gold corn in the picture below didn't produce any ears either due to competition with the beans or being planted too late.

Tepary Beans / 2020

Tepary Beans With Cascade Gold Corn / 2020

In 2025 our saved beans did not germinate, and we ordered several types of new tepary beans. In June 2025 we planted a 20 hills of Anasazi beans and 20 hills of white tepary beans with irrigation and plant to test these without irrigation in 2026.