2017 Little Easy Bean Network – Everything Beans, Post It Here & Join The Fun

[Beanfan]

Thanks, journey11. I have an ID problem, this year I bought a number of striped beans, in my avatar photo, but didn't do a good enough job when planting to be sure what these are. The pod and 2 mystery small beans are this same bean. They were very late and slow to grow, I barely managed to save seed. They were 5-6' vines, the pods were flat with a purple tinge, see the filled out pod photo, then turned dark purple when mature. The seeds were quite magenta when shelled but have darkened. On the left was previously my choice for what was Rio Zape, also a 5-6' vine but much earlier to bear and mature. The later beans on the right look closer to the photo on Bean Collector's site- http://www.abeancollectorswindow.com/beanpage5.html but it is supposed to be a bush bean. My bush beans got mostly eaten by rabbits this year so I didn't get any beans resembling Rio Zape or another striped bush bean I did not find any beans growing from, Tiger Eye, both from Azure Dandelion.
Can I assume the later beans in the right are Rio Zape though not bush? The only striped bean I grew last year was Jembo Polish and it is much larger, wide pod, white, etc.
Nancy
View attachment 2294

 

[Beanfan]

Thanks, BlueJay77, for the seed offer. I seem to be extending myself too much in the bush bean area, I bought a bunch more other than the rice beans. I am interested in growing out some of your beans on your grow-out list, pole beans would be better for me, but I'm wondering how far I would need to isolate them from my other beans.

I'm having trouble figuring out posting on this forum, I wanted to reply below your message but it put me at the end.

Nancy

 

[Beanfan]

Hi, Annette, I know you from the Gardenweb legume forum, I am Hemnancy there from my daylily (Hemorcallis) days.

 

[aftermidnight]

Hi, Annette, I know you from the Gardenweb legume forum, I am Hemnancy there from my daylily (Hemorcallis) days.

Small world isn't it . I think you're really going to like it here, much more active than the other forum, it seems to have died since the take over. Zeedman pops in here once in awhile, so maybe more of the old crew will join us.

Annette

 

[Beanfan]

It's great to see your posts again, Annette. This forum is fun, I am surprised it took me so long to find BlueJay77's wonderful website of bean photos that led me here. I am enjoying them very much. They are helpful in figuring out what seeds I will grow next year. I finished harvesting my bean seeds and they are drying for next year. Some of my new winners for this year are Sicitalian Black Swamp, Frank Barnett, Ramshorn/Ram's Horn, Ojo de Cabra, and Bosnian Pole.
Nancy

 

[journey11]

It's great to see your posts again, Annette. This forum is fun, I am surprised it took me so long to find BlueJay77's wonderful website of bean photos that led me here. I am enjoying them very much. They are helpful in figuring out what seeds I will grow next year. I finished harvesting my bean seeds and they are drying for next year. Some of my new winners for this year are Sicitalian Black Swamp, Frank Barnett, Ramshorn/Ram's Horn, Ojo de Cabra, and Bosnian Pole.
Nancy

I got to meet Frank Barnett a couple years ago. Real nice fella. Bought a few beans off of him at the swap in Berea, KY.

I grew Bosnian Pole this summer too. I agree, big winner, produced lots of very pretty seed for me off only 5 plants.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I am new on this forum, I have been gardening for 49 years and live in the PNW (Pacific Northwest). I grow lots of vegetables but my favorite are beans, for variety, ease of growth, and taste. I became interested in Rice beans from posts on the Gardenweb (Houzz) Legume forum and recently the photos and articles on BlueJay77's Bean Collector website. I just received an order from Azure Dandelion for 4 kinds of Rice beans, Brown, Black, and White rice bush beans and Little White Ice pole rice beans. I am excited to grow them next year.View attachment 22938

Glad you joined us, Nancy. Russ's beans have brought a lot of good people to this forum. Just jump right in anywhere and have fun.

 

[Beanfan]

Thanks, Ridgerunner. It's great to find such a wonderful bean community! My previous favorite beans at the start of this year's growing season, that made up most of my plantings, were Zelma Zesta- long, succulent, great production, and Uncle Steve's-productive; both excel in production in the early bean season and the end of the bean season; Jembo Polish and Super Marconi which are both broad and meaty and keep on going all season, Annelino Giallo which is tender when a full bean and great producer and a joy to pick; and dry beans Red Eye, Mayflower, and Turkey Craw.

I have to say new bean Frank Barnett out-produced them as a dry bean and was also tasty fresh. New bean Ojo de Cabra was also impressive in this category. New bean Sicitalian Black Swamp was extremely productive in green pods which I harvested a little too long and made the pods that were for seed saving mature a little late, though the maturing pods were super abundant and I used a lot as shellies and even full beans at the end. Next year I will dedicate a plant to seed production and not pick it as a green bean so I can be sure of getting mature seed earlier. Ram's Horn was a late surprise, really long round pods and productive, but I worried about getting mature seed, though they did manage to dry down at the end. I'm looking forward to next year.

I calculate I have 160' of bean trellis so mainly grow pole beans but am going to reduce planting some other kinds of vegetables next year to trial some bush beans. I have deer and rabbit problems and my biggest garden area is surrounded by welded wire fencing extended upward to 8' with bamboo, with netting hung from the top wires to prevent them from jumping in. I found that by leaning bamboo poles against the outer fence I can add trellises that hit the outside too high for the deer to eat them and extended my growing area a lot. I also went around the whole bottom with chicken wire to keep the little rabbits out that could squeeze through the welded wire and eat my little bean seedlings.
Nancy

 

[Ridgerunner]

My goals are a little different from yours. I grow Blue Jay (developed by Russ) as my early bush snap bean. My wife loves her Blue Lake Pole, the smell is what gets her, so that's my main summer production and canning bean. After I finish canning I keep a few of the Blue Lake picked so we have beans to eat on but I let the rest got to seed along with the Blue Jay.

For the rest of the beans I'm just growing for Russ's network. I started off just renewing seeds but them he offered some outcrosses. Boy are those fun. I'm still learning how to grow them. I've learned that for me I need to isolate each plant. I never know what growth habit they might have, flower color, or kind of pod, let along what the beans will look like. I can't grow them together and know which belong to what. This photo shows the variation I got off of one plant of Miss T this year. If I were sorting this by bean pattern I'd want to put the white in one pile, the lighter brown in another, and the almost black in a third pile. From growing other Miss T's in isolation I think this bean may stabilize in producing a variety of colors/patterns. Annette mentioned she had one of those. I think that white one is a reverse of the other pattern. When I hulled it the other bean sin hat pod were colored like the others, not all that much white.

I have a 10' high deer fence around my garden. I grow the Blue Lake Pole on that. Deer sometimes cause some problems but so far they have not wiped them out. I plan to rabbit proof the garden this winter. The fence won't be a problem with that, just some chicken wire. The people gate won't be bad either, just install a sill and do a bit of detail work. But my equipment gate requires some more thought. I have an idea but we'll see how it works.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Hi Beanfan,

In trying to identfy your beans do you remember where you got them? Does the place you got them from have photos on a website. Maybe you could go back and look at their beans and it would jog your memory. One thing I strongly suggest is that you make a diagram of where exactly you planted every thing you grow each season. I make my diagrams out on a word processor. Row numbers on the left side of the page followed by the varieties in the row. Type in the name of the variety. I never trust putting markers with something written on them in the garden. They usually are gone before the season is over. Animals move them the sun fades them, or a heavy rains washed them into a new place. Your diagram is always handy on your computer. I even save them all just in case I want to refer back to previous years for some reason.

However in trying to identify your beans when you've lost their identification, packets etc. It's almost impossible to know for 100% certain what the name of a bean might be. So many of them have look a like seeds. Trying to identify an unknown bean is really just guess work. You can never really be 100% certain what it really is.

After I harvest new seed they are put in a container that is labeled. Labels, labels, labels. Don't leave anything to guess work or doubts as to what that bean is called. After the seed is shelled and ready for jars. Those jars are labeled right away with the name of the bean and the year the seed was grown. If I can not identify a bean for certain the beans go into a bin where they will become bean soup or baked beans. If I drop one on the floor shelling beans and come back a couple of days later and can't be certain what it is. It heads for the bean bin unless I've grown a bean that season that has a totally unique look and I haven't grown anything that looks like it. Then I'm sure I know what the name of that bean is. Hope some of this will help.

Anyway I've to a couple of ideas for you for really good snap beans. Louisiana, very productive, fleshy tender, green pods with purple stripes. Weaver, nice succulent fleshy flat podded snap bean, and Fasold a long slender podded variety from somewhere in Europe.

Next year one of the snap beans I'm going to try out too is Annette's Emilia's Italian.