I remember reading about this one in the SSE Yearbook and considering getting since everyone seemed to like it. The first person to list it (in 1992) says:

"70-75, purple-green [pods], delicious raw or cooked even when larger, my staple bean each year, black seed, 70-80 year-old heirloom from 83 year old "Big Mama" via her mother, So. Alabama between Brewton & Andalusia, got seed thru Nat'l. Gardening Mag."

Looks like there may have been been some crossing or mutation on the way, since one person describes non-black seed starting to show up in their crop, and there's disagreement about whether it has strings when large or not. But everyone agrees that it's a productive pole plant with purple flowers, purple leaf veins, and flattened purple & green pods.

Sounds interesting, let us know how it does!

This post was edited by sea-kangaroo on Sat, Jan 12, 13 at 14:18

Thanks sea-k for that little bit of history, I just did a bit of searching myself and found that it grows to 8', it's early, heavy producing, a tasty, stringless, purple green snap, also a good soup bean. Looks like I'll have to add this one to my grow list.

Annette

I finally got around to planting these, I think I was sent the wrong seed as what I am growing is turning out to be a bush bean, just starting to flower now, purple flowers but in no way are they a pole bean, not even a half runner. Is anyone growing "Big Mama" a pole snap bean? I'd be interested in doing a trade if anyone is interested.
Annette

Just found another source for Big Mama Sunshine Farm in Canada, I think this is
where I found the description I stated above. They no longer list in in
their catalog but they still have it. Originally their seed came from
the Abundant Life Seed Foundation, I wonder if this is the same Big Mama listed in the SSE in 92. It looks like another bean in need of preservation.

Annette

I think the pole bean that you refer to with those Black, & sometimes a brown bean seed is actually a Cherokee Black ..which was hande down from the Cherokee Indians in Georgia, before they traveled the trail of tears to Oklahoma....My mother-in-law gave me some of seed beans over 35 yrs ago & I grew these every year for 25 plus years & always saved some seed each year for the next couple of years & never planted any other bean type at the same time so that I could keep the beans pure.....they grew to 8 plus feet, very heat tolerant in Ga & very prolific & had beautiful purple flowers & had the best taste to us....if you have ever eaten the variety called rattlesnake beans, they both taste the same & grow the same....Hope this helps on your Bean Quest if not it will give another heirloom to try the Cherokee Black...Larry now living in SC & no place to Garden now....

Picture taken with a flash, shows the different shades showing up in what looks like all black seed without the flash. The one on the left is the Big Mama which turned out to be a bush bean I have no idea of what this one really is, the one on the middle is Cherokee Trail of Tears and the one on the right is the Big Mama pole bean from Sunshine Farm, put in the picture just to show the size of the seed compared to the other two.

A sample of Big Mama from Sunshine Farm, most show the brown tinge, seed is slightly smaller than Cherokee Trail of Tears.

Since it's getting late in the season I've only planted a sample of these, I don't have Cherokee Black so can't do a comparison this year, maybe next year if I can get my hands on a few Cherokee Black :).

Annette