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

[flowerweaver]

@Hal the teparies aren't blooming yet. If they behave like last year's it will be a month or so while they become a large prostrate bramble before they bloom. As I recall it was September-October before I began to harvest them. They have just begun to branch, probably behind schedule from lack of sun, cooler temps, and the deluge of rains.

@Bluejay77 thanks, we are OK, just ready for some non-threatening, uneventful weather. Yesterday I found a new-to-me photo of the tornado that hit our place last summer, that destroyed most of my beans. Although I think of myself as a breeder, nature is doing most of the work for me. Anything that can survive drought, tornado, and flood is going to self-select for survival...flowerweaver's indestructible.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Wow that looked like a half mile wide tornado ! I pray I never see anything like that near my town.

 

[Smart Red]

So glad that you are high and dry, Bay, and even more that you are happy with your new place. After all that you went through to get the property, I want all the best for you there.

 

[journey11]

@Hal the teparies aren't blooming yet. If they behave like last year's it will be a month or so while they become a large prostrate bramble before they bloom. As I recall it was September-October before I began to harvest them. They have just begun to branch, probably behind schedule from lack of sun, cooler temps, and the deluge of rains.

@Bluejay77 thanks, we are OK, just ready for some non-threatening, uneventful weather. Yesterday I found a new-to-me photo of the tornado that hit our place last summer, that destroyed most of my beans. Although I think of myself as a breeder, nature is doing most of the work for me. Anything that can survive drought, tornado, and flood is going to self-select for survival...flowerweaver's indestructible.

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Glad you mention this detail on your teparies. They are new to me and I have some I was going to plant, but I believe I am too late for this year or may not have a long enough season anyway. That will save the space for another bean then. I may need to start them indoors next time...

That tornado pic is beyond creepy!

 

[897tgigvib]

Most tepary beans ripen dry pods about equivalent with early midseason regular dry beans.
They are just as easy to grow, but grow best in raised beds for better drainage.
Most tepary beans are happiest with 3 foot stakes, but will mat over each other just as well. The stakes make harvesting easier.
Tepary beans should be harvested every other day because if the dry pods stay on too long they'll shatter open.
They are plenty productive, but being smaller seeded, filling a container takes some patience.
On the other hand, they are more filling.
They actually take a bit longer to soak and to cook up than regular beans.
Tepary beans have 2 to 4 times the protein of regular beans. There is not much difference in flavor, but yes, a subtle difference is there, and there is a slight chewiness. Good food.

 

[journey11]

Thanks, Marshall! I will plant a few and save some back for next year, just in case.

 

[flowerweaver]

I let my teparies dry on the bush, but I pick them morning and evening so I get them before they shatter, as do many of my Lima's. @marshallsmyth I think of teparies and favas as the steaks of the bean kingdom. Haven't had too much luck growing the latter, but I'm still working on it.

@Bluejay77 @journey11 yes, it is very creepy to look at, but unforgettable to have experienced. All we saw was sudden and utter blackness come over us outside at 4:30 in the afternoon when it had been a really lovely day. Once in the house, the roar was so deafening we weren't even aware that several large trees had been uprooted and thrown on our roof overhead. We still have a level of post traumatic stress when it gets stormy now.

 

[teamneu]

Funny, living in TX for over 50 years and the only tornado I ever saw was driving through eastern Colorado on vacation. It was miles and miles away and looked about a mile wide. Luckily, it was in the sparsely populated plains area, and we later found a newspaper article that said it destroyed a barn.

 

[teamneu]

The Imbotyi Mbayiyana beans are blooming:


The Zambezi #2 are climbing:


The Wren's Egg are sprouting:


And i had a taste of things to come - Golden Stick from an Ebay seller in Kentucky


It seems the rain has stopped for now. Soon it will be hot & humid. Yippee.

 

[Hal]

@teamneu Those beans are coming along quite well.