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

[aftermidnight]

@Bluejay77 Duane Baptiste, this one just about went the way of the Dodo bird, Shirley Bellows and I went on the hunt for this one, finally found one, only one source for this one. Happily it's alive and well and now being sold commercially in Canada. It's very similar to the Desoronto Potato Bean but size and shape of the seed is slightly different.

Thanks for the offer Russ but I have a couple more Limas in my stash and I should try them first, 1880 Butter bean and Alabama Black. I'll have to wait until next year to see how big a garden I'll be putting in, I'm starting to have to cut back a bit, these old bones ain't what they used to be .
Annette

 

[Blue-Jay]

@aftermidnight,

The customs guys at the border never arrested that Italian gal Emilia that you told me about. She made it across the border and all the way to my house yesterday. She had a good trip. When she arrived she was very snappy looking. All decked out in her tan coat with red speckles. She will be a fine additon to the family. Thanks for sending her.

 

[Blue-Jay]

The Big Bean Show - Day #33​

This is "Ernie's Big Eye". It's a dry bush bean that grows without runners. I had once acquired it from John Withee's "Wanigan Associates" bean network in 1978. The variety was an original bean of Ernest B. Dana of Etna, New Hampshire. You can see where it got it's name. I donated the bean in 1980 to "The Henry Doubleday Research Association" in England (now known today as "Garden Organic"). "Garden Organic" has the bean in their Heritage Seed Library, but they don't send seed overseas anymore. The bean is also a part of the Seed Savers Exchange bean collection in Decorah, Iowa. I had been waiting for them to relist the bean in their yearbook so I could acquire it again, but that could be years before that ever happens. So I decided to poke around on the internet among gardening forums in England. I was sure that British gardeners probably scattered in parts of the country had at some point acquired the bean from "Garden Organic" being members of that organization. So I ran into the gardening forum "Allotments 4 All" and signed up so I could post of their threads. I found a fellow who had about 6 seeds of Ernie's Big Eye left as he was not planning on growing the bean anymore. He sent them to me and I think I sent him back a start of Blue Jay. I planted 5 of the 6 seeds, so the top photo is the way Ernie's Big Eye grew here this year. The bean displays a lot of red in a hot summer. The bottom of photo is the way the seed looked grown in England, and of course I'm know they have cooler summers there. This is how radically the beans seed coat can change with weather and soil type. The bean will look like the British version when grown in our New England states also.

Ernie's Big Eye grown in Woodstock, Illinois

Ernie's Big Eye grown in Oxford, England

 

[aftermidnight]

@aftermidnight,

The customs guys at the border never arrested that Italian gal Emilia that you told me about. She made it across the border and all the way to my house yesterday. She had a good trip. When she arrived she was very snappy looking. All decked out in her tan coat with red speckles. She will be a fine additon to the family. Thanks for sending her.

.

Annette

 

[aftermidnight]

@Bluejay77 would you mind doing a bit of sleuthing for me? I've been looking for a source for two beans the "Heritage Seed Library" has but think they are pretty scarce. Here's their descriptions, maybe someone on "Allotments 4 All'' has them or can get them, I'd willing do a trade, pay postage etc. These two beans don't seem to be available here in British Columbia, I'd love to get them back in circulation again.

'SARAH'S OLD FASHIONED BLACK'
Originating on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, these beans were passed to their donor, Connie Howard, when she visited Hidden Cone Lodge. They seem to thrive in the British Climate, producing purple stemmed plants and green pods with a mauve tinge.

Climbing French Bean 'BOB AND MARY'
This tasty and prolific bean was donated to HSL by Elizabeth Ramsay, who had been given them by her sister's partner, a native of British Columbia, Canada. His family have grown this variety since the beginning of the 20th century. It is thought that the family received the beans as payment for help repairing farm equipment for a Ukranian neighbor. Mrs. Ramsey says, "The pods can be eaten juicy and young or tender and mature.

Annette

 

[Blue-Jay]

Hi @aftermidnight,

I put out the query in Allotments 4 All on a thread called "Seed Saving Circle 2016" . Will see if we get any responses. I pasted your variety names along with their descriptions. Fingers crossed and hope it works !

 

[aftermidnight]

Thanks Russ, these seem to be very elusive varieties but one can always hope.

Annette

 

[Blue-Jay]

The Big Bean Show - Day #34
​

This is "Eye Of The Goat", It's name in Spanish is Ojo De Cabra. It is a highly productive bean. Pole variety. The beans are large.

"Eye Of The Goat"

 

[aftermidnight]

@Bluejay77 I have this one in my bean stash but haven't grown it yet, what color are the immature pods? There seems to be quite a few varieties with the same or similar seed coat patterns. These ones come to mind are Grandma's Yugoslavian for want of a better name, Jack in the Bean Stock, Serbian Pole, Valena, Austrian Pole, Wally's Romano (don't have this one) and I'm sure there's more. It would be interesting to do a comparison grow out of all of these to see what the differences actually are are. If only I had a bigger garden sighhhhh...

Annette

 

[Blue-Jay]

Hi @aftermidnight,

A native American fellow wrote to me and said he's got a bean that looks just like Eye Of The Goat. I think it is a very common color and pattern. I had grown a bean back in the 1980's with a seed size, shape and color exactly like this called Bell's Stringless.

Anyway the Eye Of The Goats immature seeds are solid green no markings. The mature pods get to be about 5 and 6 inches long.