2015 Little Easy Bean Network - Old Beans Should Never Die !

[journey11]

@Bluejay77 , surprise package is right, here's an example, when I grew some very old seed bought at a farmer's market in Ecuador.
I planted these...
View attachment 11260

and got this...
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Keeping one or two of the old seed for a comparison is a great idea.

Annette

That's awesome! A very flashy combination you have there. Are those pretty bean colors after they've dried in the pod? I love the purple ones.

 

[Blue-Jay]

@Bluejay77

My first year growing out Top Crop and Appaloosa (bush beans) made me gun-shy because of the very rainy season we had and I had a poor turn out for them suffering wet feet. Some varieties seem more affected by this than others. My Appalachian pole beans were always very tolerant of our weather conditions. Now that I know I can reasonably guarantee success by planting in raised beds, I am feeling confident enough to take on several varieties this year. I have plans to add another three 4x18' raised beds this year to the three I already have.

Bush beans are touchier saving seed when the season is rainer because the plants are right down near the wet soil. Pole beans are up off the ground in the air with most of their pods off the ground dripping dry faster away from the damp soil. With bush beans in an extremely rainy year at seed harvest time. The best thing to do is pound some long 6 ft 8 inch stakes in the ground with nails or screws stinking out of the wood, spaced up and down the pole stake and pull the bush plants up if most of their pods are yellowing and swollen with seed. Then hang the bush plants on the screws or nails and let them dry for a month in the sun. When I use this method for bush plants I come by every 5 days and harvest any dry pods that seem dry enough to harvest. In a drier year I will let the pods on bush plants dry on the plants and allow the plants to stay in the ground.

 

[aftermidnight]

That's awesome! A very flashy combination you have there. Are those pretty bean colors after they've dried in the pod? I love the purple ones.

@journey11 yes, after they were dry. It was quite a mixture, most likely grown and used as dried beans, in the green stage the young pods were very fibrous but as shellies they weren't bad. It was just an experiment to see if they would actually grow here, I collected a fair amount of seed now in the freezer but I don't plan on growing them again.
Annette

 

[baymule]

@Bluejay77 what about TEG sister sites? BYH and SS have gardeners on them, not to mention BYC. I think maybe a thread asking people if they want to join the LEBN, might be a good idea, but they would have to join TEG in order to participate. It would get too crazy trying to keep up with more than one bean thread.

 

[journey11]

The Long Tom (pole) that I had to pull and dry on the plant in the basement were the shiniest, nicest looking seeds. It does take a little more attention and foresight for me to grow bush beans for dry seed.

 

[Smart Red]

Pull and hang out of the weather. That's what I do every year for my beans. That keeps them safe from vermin and fall rains while they finish drying down.

 

[Blue-Jay]

@Bluejay77 what about TEG sister sites? BYH and SS have gardeners on them, not to mention BYC. I think maybe a thread asking people if they want to join the LEBN, might be a good idea, but they would have to join TEG in order to participate. It would get too crazy trying to keep up with more than one bean thread.

Hi @baymule,

What is the BYH and SS garden sites. I don't think I'm familiar with those.

 

[baymule]

@Bluejay77 BYH is back yard herds, link is on the right of this page. SS is Sufficient self, link also on the right of this page. Many people on those sites are gardeners also and might like to join us!

 

[ChickenMomma91]

Hi @ChickenMomma91,

I don't know how bush beans would work in a straw bale garden. Beans are rather shallow rooted, and I don't know if they will get any nutrution out of the straw to grow on.

Is there anyone among us here who could tell more about growing beans in strawbales?

I would use cages and or support stakes to keep them upright as the author of the book I've been pouring over suggests. The bales are conditioned with fertilizer and essentially create a compost/soil growing medium in the bale prior to planting. The bales create a disease free and soil pest free (with chicken wire even rodent free) garden so I believe it would be an ideal place to grow all sorts of veggies. In fact I made a post about starting the SBG here on TEG to see if anyone else has done it or is going to try it this year. So far I've read good feed back on the SBG.

 

[Blue-Jay]

I would use cages and or support stakes to keep them upright as the author of the book I've been pouring over suggests. The bales are conditioned with fertilizer and essentially create a compost/soil growing medium in the bale prior to planting. The bales create a disease free and soil pest free (with chicken wire even rodent free) garden so I believe it would be an ideal place to grow all sorts of veggies. In fact I made a post about starting the SBG here on TEG to see if anyone else has done it or is going to try it this year. So far I've read good feed back on the SBG.

Hi @ChickenMomma91,

Ok if you want to try some beans and grow them a hay bale garden that would be neat. You will have to take progress photos and post them on the 2016 LEBN thread. I certainly will be interested in hearing all the details how you prepare it all and seeing your results. As far as what you want to grow. You might like to wait until I post all the info about all those outcrossed beans I got from Will Bonsall in early April. There might be a couple of bush outcrossed beans in the mix as well. If you don't want to grow the outcrosses you can make your picks by going to my website and access the Network beans. http://www.abeancollectorswindow.com/network.html You can click on this link here.