2019 Little Easy Bean Network - Come And Reawaken The Thrill Of Discovery

[flowerbug]

@Zeedman

"Fortex (snap)" also a pole bean...

have you grown these before? i'm trying them the first time this season and looking forwards to seeing how they go and how productive they might be.

 

[BeanQueen]

Buckskin Girl second to set pods, but they're developing at a much more rapid pace because of more sun.

 

[BeanQueen]

@Bluejay77 Only one of Ntingi is vining and the tendril is already at 6ft and going going going up.

Same thing with Dana's Mercury, one of the bunch is vining before the rest. Because it's a new hybrid, I will mark that one and see if it will need to be segregated.

Also those three dark Sweetwater vines are remaining taller than the rest, not vining (yet) and are developing more purple color at the stem joints. Still too early for them to vine if they are going to.

Ntingi below

 

[BeanQueen]

Saw these on a website but they won't ship to US.

 

[Zeedman]

@Zeedman

"Fortex (snap)" also a pole bean...

have you grown these before? i'm trying them the first time this season and looking forwards to seeing how they go and how productive they might be.

Yes, I've grown Fortex 8 times since 2000; this will be the 9th. It is one of the 3 beans I rotate as my main snap bean, chiefly due to its lack of strings & firmness when frozen. The other two are Emerite (my favorite overall, especially for pickling) and Kentucky Wonder White #191 (which must be picked young to avoid strings, but has a rich cooked flavor).

Fortex has better than average cool-soil germination, and seems to have strong resistance to rust; so it is exceptionally tolerant of poor conditions. The vines are a little wispier than most, so I space the plants more closely. Normally that would be hills 12" apart, thinned to the strongest two; but this year I used pairs of transplants. The pod set is not as heavy as KW (which has a huge concentrated set) but is sustained over a longer period. The large 10-11" pods make up for the relatively moderate pod count. The pods mature VERY slowly, and remain stringless & free of fiber even when quite large. If you like to munch on raw snaps (I do) Fortex is sweet & tender raw, one of the best I've tasted, almost a salad bean. Their firmness makes them well suited for canning.

Their drawbacks:

The very long pods are vulnerable to wind bruising, which can cause them to twist. I plant them in sheltered locations, or downwind from other tall crops. The pods can temporarily become deformed during high temps, over 90 degrees. And their slowness to mature - one of their greatest strengths - makes them hard to save seed from. I hope to save seed this year, and if successful, will probably be racing the frost to get it. The last time I saved seed was in 2012; and while germination was still good this year (over 90%), I'll need to replenish my stock soon.

 

[BeanQueen]

Does anyone know if Lisa is making progress with this one? I think of this one often, since first seeing it online, but don't want to bother her about it.

 

[flowerbug]

Yes, I've grown Fortex 8 times since 2000; this will be the 9th. It is one of the 3 beans I rotate as my main snap bean, chiefly due to its lack of strings & firmness when frozen. The other two are Emerite (my favorite overall, especially for pickling) and Kentucky Wonder White #191 (which must be picked young to avoid strings, but has a rich cooked flavor).

Fortex has better than average cool-soil germination, and seems to have strong resistance to rust; so it is exceptionally tolerant of poor conditions. The vines are a little wispier than most, so I space the plants more closely. Normally that would be hills 12" apart, thinned to the strongest two; but this year I used pairs of transplants. The pod set is not as heavy as KW (which has a huge concentrated set) but is sustained over a longer period. The large 10-11" pods make up for the relatively moderate pod count. The pods mature VERY slowly, and remain stringless & free of fiber even when quite large. If you like to munch on raw snaps (I do) Fortex is sweet & tender raw, one of the best I've tasted, almost a salad bean. Their firmness makes them well suited for canning.

Their drawbacks:

The very long pods are vulnerable to wind bruising, which can cause them to twist. I plant them in sheltered locations, or downwind from other tall crops. The pods can temporarily become deformed during high temps, over 90 degrees. And their slowness to mature - one of their greatest strengths - makes them hard to save seed from. I hope to save seed this year, and if successful, will probably be racing the frost to get it. The last time I saved seed was in 2012; and while germination was still good this year (over 90%), I'll need to replenish my stock soon.

the seed shape is actually what prompted me to ask, because i've had some other long narrow seeded beans and getting any to give seeds back made me abandon growing them because they'd not set seeds. i wasted a whole patch of good eating because i was leaving the pods hoping there were some beans in there. i barely got enough back. i think i put them all in my give away selections for the seed swap as maybe someone else will have better luck. i'm guessing they are more temperature sensitive or trying to set their seeds right during the hottest part of the season here.

thanks for the info! i'm looking forwards to sampling. i do like fresh beans off the plants and as i'm picking i tend to munch quite a few - like peas from the pods when they are young very hard to resist.

i don't have that many seeds so it is going to be a challenge with Fortex. we may get another week or two in comparison to people further north for our season, but this year has been so strange weather wise who knows how it will finish!

 

[flowerbug]

Does anyone know if Lisa is making progress with this one? I think of this one often, since first seeing it online, but don't want to bother her about it.View attachment 32449

pretty!

the outer silvery layer i have in the beans i call Monster (the plant last year they came from was rather huge), i'm pretty sure it is a Dapple Grey reversion to parent or perhaps an out-cross from another bean (i did see some in Russ's collection which had that kind of silvery layer), the base color is not that bright a green (more an olive green color). i'm growing it out this year to see what it does. since Dapple Grey did well here in our soils last year i replanted it to spread those genes around some more...

it's hard to be patient when i have so many questions being asked (the beans are questions that i plant and Mother Nature gives the answers one way or another ) and i'm excited to see how they are doing.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Does anyone know if Lisa is making progress with this one? I think of this one often, since first seeing it online, but don't want to bother her about it.View attachment 32449

They look like litte watermelons. I think Lisa might have discovered these in 2018. I have written to her about them. Will see what kind of answer I get from her.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Saw these on a website but they won't ship to US. View attachment 32448 View attachment 32447

The Tresnjevec I'm wondering if the bean is a Slovenian variety. The name seems to have a similar form as Cresijevec which is from Slovenia. I've written to an Italian fellow who I traded beans with this year to see if he might have them. I'll also send an email to a a Czech Republic fellow I traded beans and a lady in England who is one of our bean growers. She might be able to get a hold of these beans and send them.