2016 Little Easy Bean Network - Gardeners Keeping Heirloom Beans From Extinction

[Blue-Jay]

Yep ! Very glad to see Marshall back in the business of growing some beans again. Marshall is such a good observer and record keeper of the charateristics of all the beans he grows.

@baymule, It will be so interesting to see what you get out of those three bean varieties. Good luck with them.

Hi @FaerieGlynne,

Would so love to have you join us in these bean grow outs. What I would suggest you pick from the network pages on my website are beans that we don't know what the growth characteristics are whether they are semi runner, pole, or bush varieties. Also you could choose beans that we don't know the year they were last grown. Once those are grown out we then know how old the seed is. If you need anymore help you can return here to this thread or email me at upadam@comcast.net.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Since we finally got just over an inch of much needed rain last night I'm not working outside today so I finally sorted Bluejay's beans so I can get my plans together on how to plant them. I'll probably wind up making several posts so I don't have as much trouble with the photos. I got Katusi Princess and Malawi Pinto from his "regular" choice, very pretty beans but you can go to his site to look them up if you wish.


From his outcrosses #27 looks very uniform is size, shape, and color. I have high hopes of being able to name this one. There is more variety in #38 but I really could not sort them into different groups so I’ll just grow them, send them to Bluejay, and let him make a determination on how well they are segregating. With both of these you can go to the first post to see the photos if you wish.

I apologize for the photo quality but I'm no Kassaundra. She is good with a camera.

I sorted #32, a bush bean, into three groups.

What I call #32 A is a dark deep red blocky shaped bean.

My 32 B is a kidney shaped bean, dark red but showing a pattern. Kind of large.

32 C has some variety in it. it has what I call more of a standard bean shape and not all that big, but there is some variety in shape and how dark they are. it's lighter red than the others with a definite pattern. This is one I may have to chat with Bluejay about after he sees what I send him.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Now for # 39, a pole bean. Some pretty good distinction on these.

My 39 A is a fairly light red, at least light compared to anything else I got, and look pretty solid colored, no pattern. It reminded me of what I think a pinto bean's size and shape should be.

My 39 B is a dark red with a light red pattern, again reminding me of a pinto in shape and size.

My 39 C is a dark red with no pattern I can see. it's slightly larger than it's sisters.

So that is my challenge this year. I like my chances of getting to name four or five different ones, hoping they breed true.

 

[BeanieMan]

Good to be here again

 

[ninnymary]

Hi BeanieMan, those dalmatian beans sure are pretty!

Mary

 

[aftermidnight]

Hi @BeanieMan , I agree those are some pretty looking beans.

Annette

 

[aftermidnight]

All of W.B's #45 are planted out and all except one are fine, I cover them up at night until they start to climb. Last night either a snail or a slug broke in and chomped the top off one. Me thinks it must have been a superstitious one, it was#13 that got munched, I'll leave it for awhile, see if it will grow a new set of leaves.
Yesterday it was stinking hot here, too hot for me to spend much time outdoors, today it's raining that means I don't have to go out and drag the hoses around, the downside is I'll be spending a couple of hours at the dentist this afternoon.

Annette

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

I'll miss doing beans this year, but I'll enjoy reading this thread.

 

[Blue-Jay]

@murphysranch,

I miss having you grow out some beans. Hopefully next year you will be able to do this again.

One thing I can report that since I put up a Network link on all the pages of my website we have picked up three new growers that way. I don't know if they will join us on the thread, but they are doing grow outs anyway. One person from Airzona took 6 of the Tepary beans to grow out this morning. I think those do best in a southwestern type climate.

 

[Ridgerunner]

A couple of questions.

How long after a pre-started bean shows a sprout should I expect it to break the soil surface? I check them twice a day and as soon as I see one showing a sprout I dig a shallow hole and cover it with loose dirt, maybe an inch deep. I don't firm the ground by mashing or patting but I pour water over it to settle the ground. I don't want to break anything by mashing. I realize I'm probably being impatient but it's been five days. When I very carefully dug down in there last night it looks like it is trying to come on up. These things become precious when you only have five seeds of that color and size to start with.

Second question. How do you handle them if you see mold start? These are the #32 which you said you only had 1 in 5 germinate in your test. Two of my three segregations are showing mold. I have several seeds in reserve but not that many. I gently rinsed them in a weak bleach solution which seems to have at least slowed the mold if not totally stopped it. They are swelling so they are absorbing moisture but I'm not seeing any signs of sprouting. Any suggestions.

They are pre-sprouting in a room I keep at or just above 80 degrees.