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

[aftermidnight]

I was just going through my bean photo album and found this pic...
This was some newly shelled "Oland Brown Island" bean seed, a bush bean bought from Richters Seed Zoo a few years back.

Their Description...

I passed this one on to someone else as I don't as a rule grow bush beans. We know bean seed changes color as they age but some do it right before your eyes. The brown color on Bosnian Pole takes a week or so to appear but the color on this one changes right before your eyes, from this to that in the matter of minutes

Annette

 

[flowerbug]

I was just going through my bean photo album and found this pic...
This was some newly shelled "Oland Brown Island" bean seed, a bush bean bought from Richters Seed Zoo a few years back.
View attachment 27474

Their Description...
View attachment 27475

I passed this one on to someone else as I don't as a rule grow bush beans. We know bean seed changes color as they age but some do it right before your eyes. The brown color on Bosnian Pole takes a week or so to appear but the color on this one changes right before your eyes, from this to that in the matter of minutes
View attachment 27476

Annette

i like the pattern on those Island beans... i always like observing how the colors change between some of the beans when they are shelled a little early and when they cure. the Red Ryder beans i usually grow have a very bright red/pink color which i wish they'd keep, but it always changes to the darker color. the same with many of the black or darker beans will have purples and blues in them when they are first out of the shell if done a bit early and then it turns darker as they fully dry. i'd love to see them keep those blues and purples and here or there during my shelling i come across beans that have hints of those in various ways, but i have yet to get any to reproduce.

 

[Blue-Jay]

This past weekend July 20 and 21st was the 38th Seed Savers Exchange Campout/Conference. I drove early Friday morning to Decorah, Iowa. Got to the Super 8 motel there around 12 noon. As I came out the door to get something else to bring into my room. I ran into a fellow by the name of Pete Molland. I asked him where he was from. Now what are the chances of running into someone who is a SSE member and is from one of the towns that Robert Lobitz named one of his beans after? Kinda very small I would think. I asked Pete where he was from and he said "Blooming Prairie" Minnesota. I had no idea there actually was a town in Minnesota by that name. I had looked at a map of Stearns county (Early Stearns) where Robert lived and tried to find many of the names Robert used as names for his beans. I found some in his county and some I found not far outside his county, but never ran into any town by the name of "Blooming Prairie. I figured Robert used mostly names close to where he lived. A few of the names of Robert's beans he made up. "Great Lakes Special" is one of those names Robert made up.

"Blooming Prairie" Minnesota is located just slightly southwest of Rochester, Minnesota located along Minnesota state route 30. The town lies mostly in Steele county but part of the city spills over into Dodge county.

 

[Blue-Jay]

How about some old seed catalog fun. This is an image of the A.A. Berry's Seed Co. catalog from 1916. The company was located in Clarinda, Iowa. Can you recognize any bean varieties from this catalog that are still sold today, and any that have disappeared and no longer appear in anyone's seed catalog. Below the image is a list of the beans sold in this issue of the catalog.

"Bush Beans"
Mammoth Stringless White Pod
Golden Wax
German Black Wax
Davis White Wax
Wardwell's Kidney Wax
Early Yellow Six Weeks
Burpee's Stringless Green pod
Refugee
Early Valentine

"Pole Beans"
Mammoth Podded Horticultural
Kentucky Wonder
Lazy Wife
Dutch Case Knife
Cut Short
Dreer's Improved Lima

"Bush Limas"
Henderson's Bush Lima
Burpee's Bush Lima

"Bush Dry Beans"
Prolific Tree
Early White Pea or Dwarf White Navy

 

[Blue-Jay]

This is an image of the Asgrow Seed Co. catalog from about 1938. The company was located in New Haven, Connecticut. The company was started by Calvin Keeney the father of the stringless bean. Can you recognize any bean varieties from this catalog that are still sold today, and any that have disappeared and no longer appear in anyone's seed catalog. Below the image is a list of the beans sold in this issue of the catalog. You will probably notice too that seed companies like to attach their names to varieties. I don't know if that is because they changed or bred the varieties in any way.

"Bush Beans"
Asgrow Stringless Greenpod (Stringless)
Asgrow Black Valentine
Burpee's Stringless Green Pod (Calvin Keeney Original Variety)
Bountiful
Dwarf Horticultural
Full Measure
Giant Stringless Green Pod (Calvin Keeney Original Variety)
Stringless Red Valentine
Red Valentine
Tendergreen
Red Kidney
White Marrow
White Navy

"Bush Wax Beans"
Pencil Pod (Calvin Keeney Original Variety)
Sure Crop (Calvin Keeney Original Variety)
Improved Golden Wax
Improved Prolific Black Wax

"Pole Beans"
Kentucky Wonder
Genuine Cornfield
McCaslan
Missouri Wonder
Cut Short
Ideal Market
Lazy Wife
London Horticultural
Tennessee Wonder
White Creaseback
White Kentucky Wonder
Golden Cluster Wax
Kentucky Wonder Wax

"Bush Limas"
Fordhook (Calvin Keeny Original Variety)
Henderson's
Burpee's Bush Lima
Improved Burpee's
Jackson Wonder

"Pole Limas"
King Of The Garden
Sieva
Florida Speckled
Large White
Yopp's Prolific

 

[Michael Lusk]

How about some old seed catalog fun. This is an image of the A.A. Berry's Seed Co. catalog from 1916. The company was located in Clarinda, Iowa. Can you recognize any bean varieties from this catalog that are still sold today, and any that have disappeared and no longer appear in anyone's seed catalog. Below the image is a list of the beans sold in this issue of the catalog.

View attachment 27658
"Bush Beans"
Mammoth Stringless White Pod
Golden Wax
German Black Wax
Davis White Wax
Wardwell's Kidney Wax
Early Yellow Six Weeks
Burpee's Stringless Green pod
Refugee
Early Valentine

"Pole Beans"
Mammoth Podded Horticultural
Kentucky Wonder
Lazy Wife
Dutch Case Knife
Cut Short
Dreer's Improved Lima

"Bush Limas"
Henderson's Bush Lima
Burpee's Bush Lima

"Bush Dry Beans"
Prolific Tree
Early White Pea or Dwarf White Navy

How about some old seed catalog fun. This is an image of the A.A. Berry's Seed Co. catalog from 1916. The company was located in Clarinda, Iowa. Can you recognize any bean varieties from this catalog that are still sold today, and any that have disappeared and no longer appear in anyone's seed catalog. Below the image is a list of the beans sold in this issue of the catalog.

View attachment 27658
"Bush Beans"
Mammoth Stringless White Pod
Golden Wax
German Black Wax
Davis White Wax
Wardwell's Kidney Wax
Early Yellow Six Weeks
Burpee's Stringless Green pod
Refugee
Early Valentine

"Pole Beans"
Mammoth Podded Horticultural
Kentucky Wonder
Lazy Wife
Dutch Case Knife
Cut Short
Dreer's Improved Lima

"Bush Limas"
Henderson's Bush Lima
Burpee's Bush Lima

"Bush Dry Beans"
Prolific Tree
Early White Pea or Dwarf White Navy

I love the 'Square Deal For All' tag on the cover, perhaps a bit different than something Monsanto might say.

 

[HmooseK]

@Zeedman

Hey Bud, I figured I would give you an update on Sierra Madre. We've had many days of 100+ degree days. A couple of days have hit 109.

They aren't thriving, but they didn't die either. I'm not getting any beans at the moment, but I think once the days get cooler in September they should kick back in.

As for seed saving, I got about 1/2 cup so far. Those long beans don't give up as many seed as you would think. Some gave 7 or 8, but I had others that only had a couple.

The taste is very good. In fact better than most snap beans.

 

[flowerbug]

we've had temperatures moderate lately and i'm sure hoping it will help all the beans set a good crop. i'm seeing plenty of flowers and we're getting some rains so all of that is good signs to me.

the few plants that were broken off did not die but are not as tall as their neighbors. that is ok.

i took pictures today but not very close up ones. just general bean and rest of the garden pictures.

heading out for afternoon now. 74F, mostly sunny, nice breeze and not too humid. it's like June and July switched places this year. and no, i'm not complaining a bit here at all - even if i was cold a while ago when i had breakfast before my siesta.

 

[Blue-Jay]

The W. Altee Burpee Seed company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has had some neat looking seed catalogs. This 1888 Burpee catalog is how catalogs looked in the late 1800's and early 1900's. I've listed the beans for sale in this catalog. How many of these are recognizable today.

"Bush Beans"
Burpee's Perfection Wax
Mont D' Or
Wax Date Dwarf
Golden Wax
German Black Wax
Crystal White Wax
Ivory Pod Wax

"Bush Green Podded Beans"
Dwarf Bonnemain
Early Etampes
Best Of All
Early Yellow Six Weeks
Early Mohawk
Extra Early Red Speckled Valentine
Refugee
China Red Eye

"Dry Bush Beans"
Goddard or Boston Favorite
New Champion Bush
Green Gem
Canadian Wonder
Royal Dwarf White Kidney
White Marrowfat
Prolific Tree

"Pole Beans"
Tall Mont D' Or
Giant Wax
Indian Chief
Early Maine
Kentucky Wonder
Marblehead Champion
Wren's Egg
Ansley's Improved Prolific Dutch Runner
Scarlet Runner
White Dutch Runner
Yard Long
Lazy Wife

"Lima Beans"
Jersey
Large White Lima
Carolina Sieva
New Challenger Lima
Dreer's Improved Lima
King Of The Garden

 

[Blue-Jay]

The Burpee catalog for 1925 had a neat looking cover. Still not photo images, but the art work style had changed. I've listed all the beans for sale by Burpee in this 1925 catalog. I see more beans in this issue of their catalog that you will also still find in the SSE yearbook.

"Bush Beans"
Giant Stringless Greenpod
Burpee's Stingless Greenpod
Extra Early Valentine
Full Measure
Refugee
Bountiful
Black Valentine
Tennessee Greenpod

"Bush Wax Beans"
Brittle Wax
Burpee's White Wax
Burpee's Kidney Wax
Burpee's Saddle Back Wax
Surecrop Wax
Stringless Refugee Wax
Hodson Wax
Pencil Pod
Rustproof Golden Wax

"Bush Dry Beans"
Robust
Dwarf Horticultural
Red Kidney
White Marrowfat

"Pole Beans"
Kentucky Wonder
Burger Stringless
White Creaseback
Lazy Wife
McCaslan
Scarlet Runner
Wren's Egg
Yard Long
Golden Cluster Wax
Kentucky Wonder Wax

"Pole Limas"
Burpee's Sunnybrook Pole Lima
Burpee's Giant Podded Pole Lima
Early Leviathan
King Of The Garden
Challenger
Carolina Sieva

"Bush Limas"
Fordhook Favorite
Burpee's Improved Bush Lima