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

[Zeedman]

Is there anyone here in our bean circle who has "Woods Mountain Crazy Beans" that would be willing to sell some to a Seed Savers Exchange member in Richmond, Virginia? There is no one in SSE listing the bean at least not this year.

Agree with the previous post; there are 4 SSE members offering it in 2018 (under "bean - snap bush") including me. I'd be happy to send some seed... however, they should probably get their seed from @rdback , since I heartily encourage people to obtain seed from their own region whenever possible. Since the person is already an SSE member, all they need to do is send a request.

 

[HmooseK]

@aftermidnight

Hey, I noticed you keep your beans in the freezer. Has that helped with longevity? How often do you have to rotate your bean growouts to keep seed viable?

 

[aftermidnight]

@HmooseK , I just started putting my seed in the freezer a couple of years ago, until then they have been kept in totes in a cool space or in the fridge. I'm still planting lettuce seed 12 years old kept in the fridge, moved most bean seed from the fridge to the freezer without doing a germination test same with the ones in totes, some are pretty old so a germination test has to be done before I either share or plant myself.
Ralph's Italian which I bought in 2013 was kept in a tote, I think I put a sample in the freezer but which jar? and as you know I had ziltch germination with them recently, they're dead but others the same age are still germinating. Anything new I've bought or traded if not growing the same or next year goes straight in the freezer.
I'm guessing they will be good for a much longer period if kept in the freezer. I had some of my Italians sitting on my kitchen counter in an air tight decorative container for 15 years, temperatures fluctuating from the 60's into the 80's, I opened and grew a good crop from this seed but the next year they were dead as a door nail, once the air got in?
Maybe others can give you a better idea of how much longer beans are viable if kept in a freezer.
Annette

 

[Blue-Jay]

Thank you @Zeedman ! I thought the Woods Mountain Crazy Bean was a pole type and kept looking under pole beans. I have passed on the info to the Richmond, Virginia member.

 

[HmooseK]

Thanks @aftermidnight

I was just curious. I'm thinking of storing my seeds in the freezer and I was curious if they would keep longer than what I've been doing. Especially beans.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Two years ago I got two seed samples from SSE that had been in frozen storage since 1986 and I got probably close to 90% germination. I had another sample of the same variety that had been in storage since 1991 and it germinated so well I thought I was working with relatively new seed. The remainder of those samples are now back in my freezer. It is my guess that different varieties might also have different amounts of time where their seed remains viable.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't know what is ideal for beans but thought of this seed bank and thought it might be of interest. For what little it is worth I keep my bean seeds in the freezer but don't know how much a freezing/thawing cycle might hurt them.

The seedbank is 120 metres (390 ft) inside a sandstone mountain on Spitsbergen Island,[22] and employs robust security systems. Seeds are packaged in special three-ply foil packets and heat sealed to exclude moisture.[23] The facility is managed by the Nordic Genetic Resource Center, though there are no permanent staff on-site.

Spitsbergen was considered ideal because it lacked tectonic activity and had permafrost, which aids preservation. Its being 130 metres (430 ft) above sea level will keep the site dry even if the ice caps melt.[22] Locally mined coal provides power for refrigeration units that further cool the seeds to the internationally recommended standard of −18 °C (−0.4 °F).[24] If the equipment fails, at least several weeks will elapse before the facility rises to the surrounding sandstone bedrock's temperature of −3 °C (27 °F),[4] and is estimated to take two centuries to warm to 0 °C (32 °F).[25]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard_Global_Seed_Vault

 

[HmooseK]

@Bluejay77
Good to know.

@Ridgerunner
That was pretty cool. I've heard of Frozen seed banks, but didn't know any of the details or where they were.

 

[flowerbug]

the only thing i know is that they need to be well dried beforehand and of course well sealed up.

as of yet, all my seeds are stored at room temperatures and i rotate plant the most important ones to keep them fresh (3-4 years at least). the major bulk seeds i select some from the past season and also go back a year or two and pick some from those seeds which mixes up diversity even more if there are crosses happening that i don't know about (until they show up).

i also keep a sample of all the major beans i grow so that i have a visual reference to what i was initially sent or grew. some of these are now 7yrs old. i suppose i could also refresh those if i grow them again and if the seeds are true to the variety.

with all the crosses, not able to grow all of them out and don't have enough of most of them to keep a sample apart as a reference.

 

[HmooseK]

@flowerbug

I keep a sample too except for Ralph Italian Heirloom. I wanted this bean so bad that I used every last seed trying to get it to germinate.