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

[teamneu]

Ok - we have very sandy soil, but have a sprinkler timed to go off every few days. It sounds like that should be enough.

I did plant beans last year successfully, but I want to make sure to do everything exactly right because I can't just go to Lowe's and buy more of the ones you sent.

Thanks!

 

[Blue-Jay]

If after somebody takes these last two beans to grow (Prizewinner (pole), and Purple Champion (pole))
I've got more beans that could be grown out, and would put up on this thread another round of bean photos. It would be neat to see some more new growers tackle some of these seeds. Those of you that have been growing these beans the last two seasons. You are getting more experience at growing dry seed, and will just get better at it all the time.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Hi @teamneu,

If you water enough just to keep the soil damp and not soaking wet. Your beans will do fine.
Sounds like your soil with all the sand content is well drained and won't become flooded.

 

[flowerweaver]

The Imbotyi Chaphaza has sprouted!

Many of the pole beans have sprouted on the cages. The 8' trellis is going in today.

Russ, you could build the cages so the wires that bend over the ends just unhook so the fencing would lay flat in storage. We'll keep ours round and stacked in a staging area in the off season. If only there was a climbing winter green!

@teamneu I've also always heard beans are best direct sown. I know those in northern climates sometimes start longer season beans earlier in their greenhouse to get a jump start on their season and seem to be able to transplant them without problem. Like with any plant, though, you can't grow it too long in a pot before it will become stunted.

There's no need to pre-soak a bean, but it does need adequate moisture until it sprouts. It helps to know your soil. Here in the desert, especially in the drought, there is zero moisture content in the soil where I plant beans. I see you are in southern Oklahoma, so you may be in the drought, too. The soil can be entirely dry again the day--or just hours--after a rain. Once I get more organic matter in the soil the moisture may be retained longer. The rain can cause the bean to sprout, and without supplemental water it will die.

Outside of an arid climate, most people have some moisture content in their soil, and chances are some organic matter. I put about an hour of irrigation on my beans every day until they sprout. Because I plant in the trough sometimes they are sitting in a flood of water (!) but only for an hour or so before it dissipates. As Russ points out, that could be disastrous if you have soil that doesn't drain well.

 

[teamneu]

Thanks for the info.
We have sandy soil, but do run a sprinkler every few days,and iirc, every day last summer. My ordinary beans (that I soaked for nothing ) have sprouted, so I believe the soil moisture is at a good level.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Oh Wow @flowerweaver that is so cool! Congradulations you are a new mama. Looks at the new baby Imbotyi Chaphaza. I'm probably as excited as you are. Hello baby welcome to the world!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Photos did not copy. I'll go try to load them again.

Won't let me upload photos.

Out of place in a bean thread, but this is an old post about how I support my tomatoes. I use T-posts now instead of the split 2x4's though.


This is how I support my tomatoes.




Raw materials

2x4’s ripped into 2x2’s and cut in half. One end sharpened.


16’ long cattle panels. Cut the bottom horizontal off so you have spikes to stick into the ground. I suggest cutting them into 8’ lengths with bolt cutters. This makes them a lot easier for one person to handle.


Wire from bales of wheat straw.


2’ long strips of 2x2’s with holes drilled in the ends.


½” to ¾” wide strips of cloth torn from worn out old clothing, usually old T-shirts.


I drive the stakes about 10” to 12” on each side of the row of tomatoes. Space them maybe 6’ apart. Place the 8’ long cattle next to the stakes and push the spikes into the ground. Use the wire to attach them to the stakes. You probably have something about 4’ tall at this point. Continue on both sides of the row of tomatoes until you have one level along the length. You probably don’t have rows exactly evenly divisible by 8’. No problem. Leave some space between the panels so they are pretty evenly spaced. A one or two foot gap won’t hurt anything.


I grow indeterminates so 4’ is not usually high enough. I take another cattle panel and attach that to the upper half of the already installed panels. It’s probably hard to see, but overlap the two panels maybe 24”. Again use the wheat straw wire to tie them together. You wind up with something maybe 6’ tall.


To help stabilize it and hold the two sides apart, I attach the 2’ long 2x2’s at the top with yet more of that wheat straw baling wire.


I use the strips of cloth to tie the tomato stalks to the wire where necessary. Since they are indeterminate I usually prune back to two or three stalks. Some of these I can weave immediately but often I have to tie the stalks to get them started. But after they are started, I just weave them as they grow, at least when I remember.

 

[Ridgerunner]

When I take them out of the garden at season's end, the panels store flat.

The photos loaded here but not in edit mode.

 

[flowerweaver]

Ridge, I like your tomato system. My store bought cages are old and falling apart, I might try something like this next year. Your land looks kind of like ours, with the hills in the distance, only it looks like your evergreens are some sort of pine and ours are junipers.

 

[Ridgerunner]

No that's mainly oak with some hickory and ash. It's called Stevenson Mountain. That photo was probably taken in early June before the summer heat and dry hit judging by the size of the tomatoes.