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@Zeedman. I live in one of the warmer drier parts of England, in fenland, over on the east side. This has been an unusually hot dry summer with drought and high temperatures, often around 86F, throughout July. It will be interesting to see how varieties compare next year if it’s nearer normal...

Yes, I've found this to be the case too. I have Jembo Polish, which is a large flattish-podded bean, and it has been so slow to mature that I might not get any advanced enough to save as seed or dried beans. On the other hand, the other large one I have is Italian Snap from beansandherbs.co.uk...

Thank you to everyone who shared their seed-saving experiences and thoughts. It’s interesting that several regimes can work, and to different extents. My collection is in its infancy and for the next year or so I hope to grow on about half of my stock so longer-term ideal storage can develop as...

@Bluejay72 Wow. Thank you very much for the long, detailed and helpful description of your storing and recording. Very interesting and quite an epic. I’m still chewing it over and will keep returning to it. Thanks so much for taking the time to reveal your trade secrets!

Hi Russ. The real Tamila pictured above is what I grew from your seed.

Thanks. What’s your criterion for deciding which ones you ‘should’ be growing? Is it a set number of years? Jan

Tamila I was given the plain pink seed as Tamila - not true to type. It had been marked as such by the Heritage Seed Library here in U.K. This year I got some Tamila from Russ to compare and they are clearly very different. I’m wondering what might have happened to create my not-Tamila and...

This article was faintly encouraging but probably a rather one-sided view. https://blog.helmerinc.com/auto-defrost-freezers Also I wonder about likely storage times in both fridge and freezer. How many years are considered reasonably safe in either place, all other factors being carefully managed?

Hi Ridgerunner and PhilaGardener Thank you very much for your welcome and for the useful sharing. I’ve also been welcomed by aftermidnight elsewhere so it’s great to look forward to being part of a lively, experienced and friendly group. You both warn against self-defrosting freezers, which are...

I’d appreciate some feedback about seed storing. As a fairly new bean addict I’ve collected about 30 varieties over the last couple of years. I’m aware that I don’t need - and physically can’t! - grow them all on every year. I wonder how many years on average experienced growers feel it’s a...