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

[journey11]

Russ, I put a marker in each sprouting cup as I presprout the beans slightly before planting, just until the little root appears. I put the marker in the row on planting but am supposed to do a planting map at the same time, that is where I messed up, I did some from memory and couldn't find all the markers. The varieties I have grown before are distinctive and I know what they are (I haven't had a problem before but grew so many this time), but it was the new ones were difficult since I didn't know what the pods looked like. My suppliers were my old reliables, Sandhill Preservation and Sample Seed Shop, plus new beans from new Azure Dandelion (I like to encourage homeschoolers), they were mostly bush beans that the rabbits wiped out in a side bed that didn't have adequate rabbit protection, I won't grow them there again. It is mainly just the Rio Zape and Tiger Eye that were a problem, but no beans resembling Tiger Eye were produced. The right side one in my photo looks most like your Rio Zape photo and also the purple pod matches descriptions, the problem being that it is a short pole instead of a bush, so that just leaves the brown one on the left. I can just grow it as an outcross. It was nice in being very early to produce while "Rio Zape" was very late, great to have both ends covered. I won't trade either bean since there is some uncertainty.

A question about growing your Network beans, do you have a rule about isolation from other beans? I do have one side fenced bed that is a distance from my main bed. I was thinking of just growing one variety there for you.
Nancy

I grew Rio Zape back in 2015. I have a notebook in this house somewhere with my notes... But to my recollection, I believe mine also made short runners, like 2-3'. I thought they were supposed to be bush also, but I remember running string between a few bamboo poles to keep them from flopping over. Your seed on the right does look like Rio Zape to me.

ETA: Found a pic of the seed I got with Marshall's original notes on them. This sound like yours too?

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I brought this bean up before, but just to Bluejay I think, so I might as well check with anyone else

https://www.richters.com/Web_store/web_store.cgi?product=X9367

Has anyone ever ordered this bean, and if so, how did it do? I'm sort of torn on whether it is worth trying. On one hand it's a (no offense meant) pretty boring looking bean (though does one of the seeds in the picture look like it has a small black eye, the one near the center of the rear?) . On the other hand, Malagasy material is some pretty unusual germplasm (well, unusual to me)

 

[Blue-Jay]

Pulsegleaner, If Malagasy beans interest you go for it. You might just find something you especially like.

I was looking for a thin podded snap bean and ran across Fasold in the SSE yearbook. When it arrived I sort of thought oh well another black seeded bean, but after I grew it found that I really liked it. It's one of my favorites now.

Speaking of Rio Zape mine also grow as a semi runner type. I grow it on the ground like a bush bean. I probably should change the description on my website to show semi runner. The bean seems fairly late too. Pods seem to dry pretty slowly. Before this summer when I grew it the first time 5 years ago a frost was threatening in October and all the pods were still quite green. I harvested them all in the condition they were at the time and dried them in the house spread out on a large piece of cardboard. They took about a month to dry. When I shelled them they had nice color and the seed was nicely filled out not shriveled. However I don't find them all that productive here.

 

[Beanfan]

I was also discouraged by how late the Rio Zape were here, it did not seem very worthwhile compared to the extravagance of Sicitalian Black Swamp or the wonderful huge beans of Ram's Horn.

 

[journey11]

I was also discouraged by how late the Rio Zape were here, it did not seem very worthwhile compared to the extravagance of Sicitalian Black Swamp or the wonderful huge beans of Ram's Horn.

I never got a very good haul from them either. Just not suited well to my climate, I guess. They were discovered in the southwest, I think. Marshall is from California, so he must have had better conditions for them than I do.

Haven't seen @marshallsmyth for a month or so. Hope he drops by for a visit and to catch the bean show.

 

[Beanfan]

I had to start planting late this year because of rain every day for 2-3 months here. If that happens again I will get out my tunnels, I typically use them for tomatoes to dry out the ground before planting, so I could try to use them to plant the beans a little earlier, though the posts for the trellises would get in the way. I would probably have to run one on each side of the trellis.

 

[Beanfan]

I don't have aspirations to be a bean collector, just to find productive varieties to keep me in beans all season. Therefore if I have a bean I like I probably won't grow another bean with similar seeds to avoid confusion. It is easier at harvest to throw all the mature pods in one basket. But I have some bush bean seeds that resemble Zelma Zesta, so I had to have a separate basket to put bush beans in. Black beans have given me trouble, I gambled and planting some as bush beans that turned out to be pole beans and I had to put in bamboo tripods to train the vines on, which was a pain. I also mixed the beans in with my cool season planting of turnips, radishes, and collards, which made it hard to harvest them too, to replace the bush beans eaten by rabbits. It was late so most of those were no good for saving seed. Live and learn.

 

[flowerbug]

yesterday i started the second stage of sorting which is where i weigh the bulk beans (now that they've had some time to dry). from the bulk beans i'll select out some seed stock for future plantings (label them) and then put the rest in containers marked for eating.

i still have around 5 kilograms of beans in various other containers i haven't even begun to sort/weigh yet. most of the tiny amounts where i have a few seeds or selections i don't even try to weigh them all.

the mixed rejects are edible and mostly lima beans, but are not suitable for storage or replanting for some reason. the beans that are actual rejects end up in the bucket which gets fed to the worms. no bean is wasted here.


Early (pre Sept 15)

- 1125g mixed rejects

- 900g red ryder
- 675g yellow eye
- 700g pinto
- 1200g lima
- 230g painted pony (hotdog)
- 50g appaloosa (purple white)


Late (post Sept 15)

- 850g mixed rejects

- 585g red ryder
- 250g greasy
- 750g pinto
- 590g lima
- 50g dark red/purple
- 50g black/dark purple
- 50g mixed browns/reds

 

[Blue-Jay]

Speaking of how much seed we harvested I got just a hair over 90 pounds of dry bean seed. That comes from an area I cultivated that was about 2,230 square feet.

 

[flowerbug]

Speaking of how much seed we harvested I got just a hair over 90 pounds of dry bean seed. That comes from an area I cultivated that was about 2,230 square feet.

for the size of the area i had planted that was what i was hoping for too (between 50 - 100lbs). in a good year i can get 10lbs from the fence grown beans alone. ah well, we are eternal optimists in that next year can at least be looked forwards to and plans can be made.