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

[Ridgerunner]

I have the same issues with getting good photos. Part of that is my lack of any artistic ability, I think getting a good photo is often more art than science. Also my camera isn't that good. It's a self-focusing and sometimes it focuses on the wrong thing. That makes it really rough if I'm trying to get shots of blooms or pods. For dried beans I try different colored/textured backgrounds, that can make a difference with different beans, getting it to focus right. On occasion I may put something of a different color with the beans to get it to focus on it. And I take a lot of photos from different angles to get one good one.

I turn the flash off too, otherwise I get a glare or they are too shiny to see detail. I normally try in my workshop with the overhead lights on and the window and door open ion a bright sunshiny day. Occasionally I take them out into the sunlight, I can sometimes get better detain that way, but you have to watch for shadows and glare.

So yes I sympathize. I'm often not proud of the photos I post on here.

 

[flowerbug]

yes, consistency is what i am mostly after. if i put up a page
of different varieties i want the background to be the same
color (whatever that is) and the white balance and other
colors to be right for what i am seeing.

for getting a more consistent shot with my camera i can set
it to macro zoom at a fixed focus and move the camera in
and out a little bit and take a half dozen picturest that ways
and at least one of those is usually acceptable.

what i really need is a new computer, a new camera, lights
and a color calibrator. the new computer i hope to have by
the end of this winter or sooner (i have to budget save for it).

ok, time to get out there and get a garden cleaned up. hope
you are all having a good beany day.

 

[aftermidnight]

O.K. here I go again, looking for another bean. A lot of you might have followed my journey in looking for the identity of the Italian bean given to me in 1965, it was a bean that had been grown in my neighborhood since the early 1900's. After much searching and many comparisons I found out what I wanted to know .https://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/another-bean-story-how-emilia-got-her-name.19824/
The same time I was given another bean by another neighbor to try, she didn't have the history just said it had been around for a long time. It was a pretty good tasting bean but alas I didn't grow it for many years and when I found my seed, forgot where I had put it for safe keeping it wouldn't germinate. So the search was on.
Just by chance this morning I ended up on Amishland's website and low and behold one she has sounds like the bean I had. I know the rep this lady has but I honestly have to say I have ordered from her in the past without any problems but she doesn't send outside the U.S. anymore. Taken from her website...

I have grown several beans with the same lookalike color, shape and zebra striping as the one in the picture but nothing has matched up with the bean I used to grow. Her description sound dead on of the one I lost. Do any of you grow this bean, would love to get my hands on a few seeds to see if it really is the bean I've been looking for, I have lots of varieties maybe we could do a trade. Finding this one would complete my bucket list in the bean department.
With @Bluejay77 's help last year I found the elusive 'Bob and Mary' and another gal in the UK http://www.beansandherbs.co.uk/ has found the other bean I've been looking for, 'Sarah's Old Fashioned Black' this one sounds pretty interesting and I'm looking forward to growing it next year.

Annette

 

[Blue-Jay]

@aftermidnight,

Your problem with Breck's Italian is solved. I'll just buy a packet of 15 seeds from them and send them to you. No problem. It's easy breezy. After all you've sent me all kinds of beans.

 

[aftermidnight]

@Bluejay77 WOW, thanks Russ, I will gladly reimburse you for them or... although I didn't get a lot off the few seeds I grew I can send you a sample of 'Bob and Mary' and possibly a few 'Sarah's Old Fashioned Black', she's just waiting for them to dry sufficiently before she pops them in the mail. She said Sarah's has almost coral pink flowers, sounds interesting. Although this one was known to be grown on Vancouver Island I read it originally came from Washington state. Just let me know if you want a few. By the way I only need a sample so just send me 6 or 7 and keep the rest for yourself.

Annette

 

[Blue-Jay]

@flowerbug,

I do believe we are still having fun. Looks like you enjoyed looking through the old Little Easy Bean Network Threads. Some of those old threads are a lot of reading to get through.

 

[flowerbug]

@flowerbug,

I do believe we are still having fun. Looks like you enjoyed looking through the old Little Easy Bean Network Threads. Some of those old threads are a lot of reading to get through.

yes, Russ, i only made it through the first of them last night.
but very interesting reading and some of it on the genetics
was just what i was looking for, but i'm still confused because
at times when shelling out beans i do have different seed
coats in the same pod. sometimes they alternate and other
times it's just a single or a few with the rest being different.

i shell all by hand too, it does take time, but each pod is like
opening a present at Christmas or a birthday. except when i
was growing soybeans for making soymilk. those i could put
in a pillow case after they were dried well enough and then
walk on them barefoot to get most of the pods open and then
to separate the beans from the chaff instead of using the wind
(which can be unreliable or too strong or the weather outside
being too bad by the time i got around to it) i'd get out a piece
of cardboard and roll sort the soybeans from the chaff. much
less dust in the garage that ways too...

i am now cleaning up the bean patches, only a few pods
here or there which have actual beans in them. we have
three more clear days until rains return so i hope i can get
my digging project finished and check what's left of the
beans for any ready pods before then.

the large scarlet runners are fully green and plumped up
so those i can leave for a while yet, but if i see frost coming
i'll grab whatever i can. nothing in the forecast that cold
yet (through next week). so the lima beans will be an
interesting late crop for a change too.

most of the first rough sorting is done. i need good light
for the finer stuff now and with all the stuff we need to do
i don't often get back to the finer sorting until mid-to-late
winter or even spring.

my estimate of production before of 1/3rd is probably more
like 1/5th-1/10th. so many empty pods this year.

 

[aftermidnight]

@flowerbug I had this happen to me only once in one pod of Mr. Tung's.

Mr. Tung's.................................In one pod in the middle was one pink seed.

I planted this pink seed the next year and got these....

Pods were different................... seed dried and shelly, the shelly was whitish green.

The next year I planted one of the above and got this...

Pods were the same shape but pinker, the shelly was pure white with pink speckles. This is as far as I went with this as space is at a premium here and I had so many more new to me varieties to try, by now the addiction had hit.

Annette

 

[Ridgerunner]

yes, Russ, i only made it through the first of them last night.
but very interesting reading and some of it on the genetics
was just what i was looking for, but i'm still confused because
at times when shelling out beans i do have different seed
coats in the same pod. sometimes they alternate and other
times it's just a single or a few with the rest being different.

I've noticed that too. These were shelled a long time ago so they didn't come from the same pod, but two of them easily could have. I remember getting this white one when I was shelling, it was the only one close to that in that pod and very unusual. This plant was very productive but that's the only one with that much white on both sides. The majority have that crescent pattern on one side but often not both sides.



These are all from one of my Miss T plants. It's the same six beans in roughly the same location, I just turned then over to show both sides. It's amazing to me how much variety I can get off of one plant. And yes, occasionally from the same pod.

 

[Tricia77]

I am finished with my bean harvesting, except for my one lima bean variety. I thought I would share some pictures of the varieties I grew this year. It was a challenging year, so harvest amounts were low and some varieties didn't produce at all. The first set of pictures are of the Robert Lobitz varieties I grew this year.

Mazeppa
Mazeppa by Tricia Rosamilia, on Flickr

Zumbro Falls
Zumbro Falls by Tricia Rosamilia, on Flickr

Arnold Snap
Arnold Snap by Tricia Rosamilia, on Flickr

Untitled by Tricia Rosamilia, on Flickr

Keewatin
Keewatin by Tricia Rosamilia, on Flickr

Canoe
Untitled by Tricia Rosamilia, on Flickr

Unnamed variety OOA-O3F
Untitled by Tricia Rosamilia, on Flickr