Native to Texas, it grows 1 to 2 feet tall and is covered with tiny, berry-like red fruit in late summer and fall. It's so showy it could find a happy home in a flower garden as well as a kitchen garden. Heirloom beans are also unique in color and taste. Monticello sells a Wild Goose Bean which is a gorgeous maroon, tan and white striped shelling bean that is wonderful when used to make baked beans. Grow 10-15 plants per person, or two hills per person.
Any kitchen garden needs good soil preparation.
Most veggies like a pH around 6.5, so getting a soil test is always a good idea. Double digging always helps to loose up the soil. It's great to see a seed change into a sprout, then into a plant, then to make fruit and then for this plant to change from this peak of perfection to the sort of overgrown or dried-out state necessary for seed production. The entire process can be a lesson in botany and biology. Plus, growing heirloom vegetables opens up a whole new world of taste and color and variety to gardeners.