Seven year beans: grow perennial protein

We call Madagascar beans (Phaseolus lunatus) our magic beans. They:

are fast growing
live for 7 years
are hardy and low-maintenance
are adaptable to various soils
provide abundant protein – great for us!
produce abundant organic matter – great for soil life!
are totally edible – all parts

Not only do Madagascar beans grow so fast and produce so much, they also taste great, add lots of fibre and protein into our vegetarian diet, are versatile to cook and, well, look fabulous – large purple-spotted beans! I use them in soups, stews, curries, salads, veggie patties and dips. The beans can also be made into tempeh.

The Madagascar bean vine is a vigorously climbing perennial legume for warmer areas – it thrives in hot humid areas. In my subtropical garden (which can experience frosts in winter), it dies back each winter but happily reshoots when the temperatures rise again.

Each year the vine gets stronger and more productive. The main stem on my vine is now quite substantial. I have it growing on a strong trellis – it needs it!

Madagascar bean is actually a type of lima bean. The white variety is also known as butter bean – a common bean found in cans on supermarket shelves. This bean can be eaten as both young and dried beans. The young pods and leaves are also edible, but need to be cooked well – they can be fibrous and the leaves a bit bitter.

Madagascar bean is an ancient vegetable from the Andes. It was first domesticated in Peru possibly as early as 8000 years ago.

As well as producing food, these beans help create a mass of organic matter, improve the soil, and can be used to create summer shade and screening.

Click here to watch my new short film: Grow Perennial Protein.

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About the Author

MORAG GAMBLE Blog is an award-winning Australian permaculture designer, speaker, author, blogger, film-maker and teacher. She creates the popular Our Permaculture Life Blog and YouTube channel, offers online permaculture education – The Incredible Edible Garden and the Permaculture Educators Program, a combined Permaculture Design Certificate and Permaculture Teacher Certificate.

Morag is the founder and Executive Director of the Permaculture Education Institute and runs a small permaculture charity, Ethos Foundation. Each month she also offers free online monthly masterclasses.

Morag is an urban permaculture pioneer and cofounder of the Australian City Farms and Community Gardens Network and Northey Street City Farm in Brisbane.

Morag offers a wealth of knowledge of all things permaculture and has taught in 22 countries – she is always teaching and sharing. Morag’s natural habitat is her award-winning edible landscape at Crystal Waters Ecovillage.

One Response

Mel Duncan January 8, 2018 at 1:05 pm | Permalink

Thanks for this awesome info Morag! I was wondering if you know anything about sword beans? I have one growing in the garden – it's about 2 years old now but there's a surprisingly little amount of info on the internet about which parts are edible (and some of the info is conflicting too!).

Morag Gamble

My name is Morag Gamble and I am living and working a permaculture life. I live an ‘Off-the-Grid’ lifestyle in a permaculture village near Maleny in the subtropical part of southeast Queensland, Australia with my husband and 3 young children.

We designed and built our modular eco-home – with much appreciated help from my family. We are mortgage-free and live simply. Our income is derived from permaculture-related activities. We grow a lot of vegetables, herbs and fruit in the polycultural garden-playground surrounding our home. We collect our water, deal with our wastewater on-site and produce most of our own power.

I love this way of living and I love bringing my children up in this environment. They are Nature Kids and they are learning vital skills for resilience, compassion and future problem solving through our ecological unschooling approach.

I am also passionate about how this way of life can make a positive contribution to society and support ecological regeneration.

Mel Duncan January 8, 2018 at 1:05 pm | Permalink

Thanks for this awesome info Morag! I was wondering if you know anything about sword beans? I have one growing in the garden – it's about 2 years old now but there's a surprisingly little amount of info on the internet about which parts are edible (and some of the info is conflicting too!).