2018 Little Easy Bean Network - Join Us In Saving Amazing Heirloom Beans

[flowerbug]

A question for you seed savers...

Would it help to remove all the pods from a cluster of pods that don't have a chance of making seed before the weather turns. lf all the nourishment goes into the one or two pods that are swelling would it make a difference?

Annette

the other thought i have is that if you remove any new flowers and pods that are forming at least you are not going to impact the harvest because those have no chance at all of making beans.

my lack of really close experience with all the varieties and crosses and selections is that i don't really know how long it takes for them to form a fully filled out bean that is mature enough to be viable...

for the Fordhook Lima beans it seems to be about 3 weeks under mid-summer conditions. now it's late and not very sunny so i'm not sure i'll get any more full pods at all. i hope so, another crop/harvest would be appreciated, but i kinda doubt it... i'm letting them flower for the bees that seem to love 'em.

no frost in the forecast for the next week at least...

 

[flowerbug]

It might... or it may just trigger the plant to return to a vegetative state & begin putting its energy into new growth. It might actually be more effective to stress the plant, perhaps by removing not only some of the pods, but a good portion of the leaves as well. That is basically what usually happens here naturally, when the first light frost damages some of the leaves, but the pods & stems survive. Ripening always goes into overdrive at that point.

...Runner beans for that purpose are one of the last surviving vegetables in my garden right now, I'm almost hoping for the freeze to arrive, so I have an excuse to finally pick them.

the bean farmers in some places will actually chop the plants off or disturb their roots and then pile them up in winnow rows so they will finish up if they won't do it naturally. i'm not even sure where i read this it's been some time since i did...

if i'm really worried about rains ruining some seeds i'll get pods that appear to be plump and firm enough that the seeds should be viable. i'm always amazed at some of the beans how much pigment the seed coats already have even if the pod if still pretty green and wet.

 

[Blue-Jay]

@flowerbug, If you got bush plants and are worried about seed getting ruined. If also if some of the pods have yellowed and some green ones are plumped up with full seeds just pull the plants out of the ground. Trim off the leaves and hang them up off the ground. Put some poles in the ground with 3 inch screws in them in several places to hang the plants on them. If you got some sort of out buildings. Run some twine strings across the inside and hang plants on those. Pole beans most of the pods are already off the ground. I don't think there is much you can do about those unless you just pull up the pole beans and put the under a roof somewhere. Inside an out building or inside a garage. I would leave my car outside if I had to and use the space for drying beans.

I dried some Tobacco patch pods recently that were green and dried them till they were crisp and I'll show you the nice normal looking seed that came out of them when I do my Bean show after I get all my photos done. I also dried some pods of a couple other varieties pretty green too.

 

[Decoy1]

Doesn't mean you shouldn't try though... part of the joy of gardening is pushing the envelope, and proving naysayers wrong.

Thanks Zeedman. Yes, I’ll try! I thought the Madagascar Limas we’re pushing it but couldn’t resist. I do agree that it’s exploring possibilities which keeps gardening - and life generally - interesting, as you say.

 

[Decoy1]

58mm of rain doesn't sound right to me for anyplace in England? did you mean 580mm instead? (

Yes, sorry. You’re absolutely right. 580mm. Luckily!

 

[flowerbug]

@flowerbug, If you got bush plants and are worried about seed getting ruined. If also if some of the pods have yellowed and some green ones are plumped up with full seeds just pull the plants out of the ground. Trim off the leaves and hang them up off the ground. Put some poles in the ground with 3 inch screws in them in several places to hang the plants on them. If you got some sort of out buildings. Run some twine strings across the inside and hang plants on those. Pole beans most of the pods are already off the ground. I don't think there is much you can do about those unless you just pull up the pole beans and put the under a roof somewhere. Inside an out building or inside a garage. I would leave my car outside if I had to and use the space for drying beans.

I dried some Tobacco patch pods recently that were green and dried them till they were crisp and I'll show you the nice normal looking seed that came out of them when I do my Bean show after I get all my photos done. I also dried some pods of a couple other varieties pretty green too.

it's been raining pretty regular the past three weeks and also the foggy/heavy dew nights we have, i don't think anything if left outside would do well in this. we're way ahead of normal rainfall this year.

when i see any plump enough pods on certain plants i'm bringing them in to finish up. no room to hang things and no outbuildings here. we're a very tiny place. whatever i bring in has to fit in my room somehow.

i did spend time yesterday consolidating box tops from the various gardens and even started some sorting (i'm getting cabin fever from all this rain and wanted to do something garden related) so at least now i have some room back for drying pods/beans if i do need it.

the MunChedPale's have some nice thick pods coming along, the seeds in those will be viable, i'll grab whatever i can if there's any kind of a frost warning or if they start turning/shrinking. maybe another week or two. i hope.

 

[flowerbug]

Yes, sorry. You’re absolutely right. 580mm. Luckily!

i figured as much, but good to know for sure.

 

[saritabee]

Woohoo, finally got my keyboard issue fixed! Happy to see what everyone's up to.

@aftermidnight, do you (or how do you) clean the tulle bags between uses? I accidentally transferred some spider mites to a few other plants, I think with the tulle bags, before I realized the spider mites had visited my yard... I popped some bags in the washing machine and they seemed to survive okay, but I wonder if it's actually enough to "sanitize" them.

@ Russ - Really neat to hear how you manage seed storage on your end! Do you have a link to the boxes you use for freezer storage?

 

[aftermidnight]

@saritabee I have a lot of the little wedding favor bags and don't think I've reused any yet but you bring up a good point. I think maybe putting them in a bowl of water, stick it in the microwave and bring it to a boil would do the trick. Less wear and tear then washing them.

 

[Blue-Jay]

@saritabee,

This is the link to the place where I purchase boxes and my 4 mil. ziploc baggies for freezing bean seed. I use a 12 x 7 x 5 box and a 3 x 4 inch 4 mil ziploc. You might want to use different sizes.

https://www.uline.com/Index