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

[flowerbug]

if the distinction is consistent enough then it is nice to have it named and described. otherwise eventually it may get mixed back in and nobody would notice.

like i am glad that someone worked on getting Fort Portal Jade isolated. i just wish they grew better here.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I actually may have slightly contributed to that isolation. It was my e-mail to Richter's that led to them rouging out all of the non green seed in the mix (whether they threw them out or added them to the Bantu packs, I do not know).

Technically, since my pack came before the cleanup, there may be some off color FPJ in my bantu mix. When I planted it I also planted a purple seed from that pack. Since everything is purple, I can't tell if that is one of the ones that grew.

 

[flowerbug]

I actually may have slightly contributed to that isolation. It was my e-mail to Richter's that led to them rouging out all of the non green seed in the mix (whether they threw them out or added them to the Bantu packs, I do not know).

Technically, since my pack came before the cleanup, there may be some off color FPJ in my bantu mix. When I planted it I also planted a purple seed from that pack. Since everything is purple, I can't tell if that is one of the ones that grew.

so far i have not gotten any off-color FPJs.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Like I said, they removed them and either tossed them or added them to the Bantu where no one would notice them.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Russ's 2020 Bean Show - Day 26​

Spring Valley Purple - Bush Dry. A Robert Lobitz original named bean. He released this throught the SSE yearbook nearly 20 years ago. Productive bean with good sized plump seed.

Stars And Stripes - Bush Dry. I was trying to locate Robert Lobitz beans when I came across a 5 year old listing for Koronis Tan Trout in a back issue of the SSE yearbook. So I decided to write to the lister and to my surprise he had the bean stored in his freezer grown 17 years before. I offered to buy the bean from him but he sent it to me no charge and a list of other beans he had. On his list a bean called Stars And Stripes kind of intrigued me so I got that one too. Let it sit in it's packet all during 2019 and grew it out this past summer. Ran across it's origin on the internet somwhere about a month ago. Kind of interesting beginning. The bean originated with and named by a Diane Mackentley sometime in the 1990's. She may have been an acquaintance of the late Robert Lobitz. The bean is a selection from Jacob's Cattle. Although resemblance to that variety can be seen. The beans really never completely takes on completely the Jacob's Cattle pattern. The light wispy curving lines across some of the beans seeds aptly lend to it's name.


Spring Valley Purple..................................................Stars And Stripes


Stoney Creek - Bush Dry. After growing out a Jacob's Cattle Amish segregation from a few seasons before 2016. This bean showed up and I gave it the name Stoney Creek. It seems one year the bean was a bit brownish in color then later reverted to this more bluish coloring that it has kept. In the photo is looks like I have run across an rather brown looking one at the eye patch. Still not stable it has produced a white off type each season since 2016. It's off type is in second photo.


Stoney Creek...............................................................Stoney Creek Off Type



Stringless Greenpod - Bush Snap. Introduced by the Burpee Seed Company in 1894. The origin is credited to N.B Keeney and Son although Calvin Keeney is probably truely the main source of the bean while still living on his fathers farm in LeRoy, New York.

Tendergreen - Bush Snap. The origin of this variety is probably not going to be known for sure some credit this bean to Calvin Keeney's Asgrow Seed Company being released in 1922. This nearly century old bean has been quite popular with home gardeners over the years.


Stringless Greenpod...................................................Tendergreen

 

[flowerbug]

Now I will have more time to sort the seeds and take photos. Here are some beans I have grown this year.

Bumble Bee
View attachment 37992
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To be continued...

those markings are so distinct they could have been drawn on the beans with a marker! i'm assuming those are yellow/wax bean? usually here the white beans with the soldier markings are wax beans because i've been growing Top Notch for a long time.

 

[Artorius]

Flowerbug, I swear I didn't paint them No, it's not wax bean. This is bush bean for dry seeds. They are big and bulgy. Exactly like bumblebees

 

[Zeedman]

Bumblebee has very large seeds for a bush bean, and a short DTM. I grew them many years ago, to trial as shell beans. I was happy with the yield, but found the skin to be too tough for my taste, and never grew them again. Having learned more about beans since then, I may re-visit Bumblebee again in the future, when/if I get caught up in my over-due grow outs.

 

[Zeedman]

2020 beans continued.

Garafal Oro - pole Romano-type snap, from Pinetree Garden Seeds in 1999. The pods are a curved scimitar shape, green, 5-6" long, with a sweet flavor that is almost like a cross of bean & pea. Later than some Romano types, but very high yielding. After many successful plantings, I had trouble with it this year. Vigorous vines & a heavy pod set, but 80-90% of the seed turned out to be deformed, and had to be discarded... only 6 ounces of good seed. I had added some "garden mix" topsoil to that area last year (from a local landscape supply) which they stated had sand & compost mixed in. Which sounded good - but I suspect it was municipal compost, with herbicide residue. Other plants in that same area were also stunted (including weeds), I hope whatever caused this breaks down - because I added 5 yards of that same soil (but a year later) to the low side of my garden, and to my garlic bed.

Giant Red Tarka - bush shelly, selected from a Hungarian accession sent to me by the USDA/ARS. Very vigorous, heavily-branched bushes, numerous 4-5" pods turn yellowish tan when ripe, with 4-5 very large red & white seeds that are very easy to shell. 85 days to dry; had 13 ounces of dry seed, and a meal of shellies. My favorite bush shelly.



Madeira - pole dry, from an SSE member in Indiana. Strong climber, but not heavily branched. This is a horticultural type, with very fibrous immature pods. The mature pods are 5-6" long, and contain 4-6 VERY large beans. Their flavor is IMO too strong for use as shellies (although we ate some that way); but it is a very good soup bean. Fairly long DTM, 115 days to dry seed here. Because weed pressure delayed maturity (a common theme this year in the rural garden) we only harvested 5 ounces of dry seed.

Mr Claude Parker - pole snap, from SSE's Heritage Farm collection. This was a new trial, and was planted VERY late to replace something which failed to germinate. The round pods are 4-5" long immature, green with very heavy purple striping, and very early. I became interested in this variety during a Labor Day visit to Heritage Farm, because all of the seed on their plants was completely dry by then, and seed production was high. My own plants were stunted, but bloomed after about 30 days, and ripened 4 ounces of seed. It looks like a "keeper", I plan to grow it again under more favorable conditions.



Schwarze Witwe - pole wax, from an SSE member in Oregon. An Austrian bean, the name supposedly refers to the seed pattern being "similar to the veil of old widows". 5-6" stringless, slightly curved yellow pods. Not usually my most productive pole wax, but did very well this year... in fact, the only bean in the rural garden to perform normally. We were too busy with Emerite snap beans to eat many of these, so most were let go to dry. The pods took a long time to go from snap to dry & many had to be picked as shellies just before frost... but we harvested 26 ounces of dry seed.

German Butterbean lima - pole, from Heritage Farm. 10-12' vines, with wide 4-5" pods, 3-4 very large white beans per pod. The large shellies are tender skinned & sweet. Started as transplants, all seed matured... 2 pounds of dry seed. While I love the flavor, I was a little disappointed in the yield, and will make it a point to grow it on the more fertile rural plot next time.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Bumblebee is a beautiful bean, but it doesn't grow well for me. Beans are not as filled out although they will germinate and grow when planted. They also don't yeild well here. I have thought maybe the summers are to hot here for them. I know they will grow well in the New England states. I just stopped growing them a few years ago.