2020 Little Easy Bean Network - An Exciting Adventure In Heirloom Beans !

[flowerbug]

Hello! I'm Amy and this is my first year participating in the bean network. I live in northeast Ohio, zone 6a.

I'll be growing two varieties (both arrived safely yesterday @Bluejay77):

Hemelvaartboontje
Pale Grey Lavender

I've been reading through all the previous year's threads, and I'm excited to participate this year!

yay! welcome.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Hello! I'm Amy and this is my first year participating in the bean network. I live in northeast Ohio, zone 6a.

I'll be growing two varieties (both arrived safely yesterday @Bluejay77):

Hemelvaartboontje
Pale Grey Lavender

I've been reading through all the previous year's threads, and I'm excited to participate this year!

Hi Amy,

That's great news. Glad the beans arrived. Don't forget to take some photos of your bean grow outs and post them here.

Bluejay77

 

[Betula]

Hi Amy,

That's great news. Glad the beans arrived. Don't forget to take some photos of your bean grow outs and post them here.

Bluejay77

Will do!

 

[Blue-Jay]

Check This out. Another one of my orginal name beans that is selling commercially. https://secretseedcartel.com/product/buffy-bush-bean/

 

[Ridgerunner]

Sounds like they may be semi-runner instead of pure bush but the buying public would not appreciate the difference. I have some I've been calling bush but as I hopefully stabilize them I'll start distinguishing them in my records.

Those Karachaganak that produced a "bush" last year seem to fall into that category. It's the first time I've grown them so the jury will be out a while on everything but they are definitely not pole. Waiting to see what the dried beans look like.

 

[flowerbug]

Check This out. Another one of my orginal name beans that is selling commercially. https://secretseedcartel.com/product/buffy-bush-bean/

View attachment 35390 View attachment 35391

of course i had to check out what they offered.

i noted that they do have Purple Dove as a fresh eating bean but it is also an excellent dry bean.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Buffy is a true bush, but like most bush beans when they become very mature tend to lay over on their side. They recommend small stakes to keep the plants standing straight up. I've done it that myself to keep drying pods more off the ground.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Spent yesterday afternoon tilling up the big bean plot. 48 degrees all afternoon, brrrrrr ! This plot is where my pole, and semi runners grew last summer. This year it will be home to 80 varieties of dry bush beans.

 

[Blue-Jay]

I have showed photos before of this area that is 48 feet wide by 80 feet long. Where I had fencing built to keep deer away from eating any beans I grow inside this fenced area. However I have discovered that when the soil here gets wet it stays excessively wet for a long time. Most of my bean seed planted here then just rots The drainage must be poor. I'm thinking it's due to the subsoil. The topsoil is very loamy. I do like how the colors of trout patterned beans turn out in this soil. So I'm going to try a large raised bed box 40 feet by 24 feet. 960 square feet. Using 2 x 12 lumber I'm hoping the extra depth of the soil will take care of the drainage problem. Photo is the box with three sides put together. My landlord had roto tilled a big area just west of my fenced in place to kill the grass. Will be moving the top soil with his tractor from that roto tilled spot to this box then replace the removed soil with purchased top soil from a local vendor. It would have been easier just to have used the vendor's top soil to fill this raised bed box, but I already know the results I get from this local soil. I don't know what results I would get from purchased soil.

If this plot works out like I think it will then there is another plot inside this fenced are the same size that I will build another raised bed box around.

 

[Ridgerunner]

In Illinois you should have good top soil, not like the gumbo muck we have down here. It's rich, plenty of nutrients but the tilth and texture is horrible. Hopefully that solves your drainage problem.