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

[Blue-Jay]

I'm in love with Murusiedda Rossa on network page 5. @Bluejay77 - does the image on bohnen-atlas.de look like the beans you have? I like the ones in your image better.

The bean I have is still the original seed grown in someone elses soil. Many of my seeds of that variety look lighter which could be due to have gotten slightly damp from rain while the pods were drying. Also the Bohnen-Atlas photo might be darker or look different because soil differences. I can see the margins of the red coloring on Bohnen-Atlas's seed look rather broken and iregular. Might be some outcrossing going on there too. Will have to see what I get back from my seed sample once they are grown. Someone from Iowa has requested seed yesterday of this bean from me. Will see what the results of their grow out is later this year.

 

[Blue-Jay]

I thought I would share this story of one of my occassional network growers. This young Marion, Iowa high school student at the time in 2017. Requested 29 network bean varieties. Turned in the most beautiful seed later that year. Then after sending in his seed returns he mentioned he had 19 Joseph Simcox collected beans that I didn't have. He mailed them to me and I thought he should get back 19 on a trade. After that year he disappeared.

About a week ago he emails me and wants to grow beans again. He tells me he is half way through is university studies. He's majoring in Agronomy and is going for a PHD in that subject line. He wants to be a plant breeder. So after he sees the new updated Network pages. He requests a total of 54 bean varieties. All I got to say is Wow! The energy of a young person. If the growing season has good weather I know he's going to return great bean samples. I'm looking forward to his results.

I know anyone could say that I grow more beans than he does, but he's got a summer job on top of this too. I'm retired from my day job and have all day everyday to work on the bean gardens.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Nice story, Russ. Of the 54 did he happen to ask for any from the Will Bonsall group at the back where he is likely to get a bunch of segregations? That could really be interesting and add to his workload if he sorts and names.

I'd love to see his bean show, man what a lot of work just for that.

 

[Michael Lusk]

@Bluejay77 I just finished looking at your updated site and it makes me really wish I had more space to grow! Being a city dweller has some serious limits for gardeners. I appreciate all the added details about the network beans - I'm always curious about the origins of the seeds. Thanks again for all your work with this endeavor!

 

[Blue-Jay]

Nice story, Russ. Of the 54 did he happen to ask for any from the Will Bonsall group at the back where he is likely to get a bunch of segregations? That could really be interesting and add to his workload if he sorts and names.

I'd love to see his bean show, man what a lot of work just for that.

This fellow took almost all beans of overseas origin except for one. He chose to grow Karachaganack as the only Will Bonsall origin bean. People are liking that bean since I put it up for sale after growing it again last year. I really need to do another grow out of Karachaganack this year to have enough seed supply. The hotest bean right now is Fagiolo Viola Di Assiago. The solid purple bean I got from Italy last year. Just about half of my bean orders include that bean. That is another bean I need to grow again this year.

 

[Blue-Jay]

@Bluejay77 I just finished looking at your updated site and it makes me really wish I had more space to grow! Being a city dweller has some serious limits for gardeners. I appreciate all the added details about the network beans - I'm always curious about the origins of the seeds. Thanks again for all your work with this endeavor!

Mike you could always rent some ground from someone in a more rural enviornment. I don't know how far you would have to drive to get to a garden spot like that. I also live in the city limits here in Woodstock, Illinois. However it's a rural town. Drive outside the city limits and your in corn and soybean fields. I rent ground from people who live on small rural acreages. I have two off site bean gardens. One is 3 miles from here and the other is 11 miles, that takes me about 20 minutes to get there. 7 years ago I found a small 4 foot long trailer to buy for hauling my roto-tiller to my off site bean gardens. I have my two small backyard plots. one is 11' 6'' x 22' 6" the other one is 10' 9" x 15' 10". I also have a flowerbed in the back of the house which is 2' x 23'. I also have my south side of my house flower bed which is 4' x 40'.

 

[Zeedman]

@Bluejay77 I just finished looking at your updated site and it makes me really wish I had more space to grow! Being a city dweller has some serious limits for gardeners. I appreciate all the added details about the network beans - I'm always curious about the origins of the seeds. Thanks again for all your work with this endeavor!

I second @Bluejay77 's advice. As someone who has gardened on other people's property since the 80's, I can vouch for the fact that there are nearly always sites available, if you are creative & offer the property owner a "win-win" proposition. Absentee property owners, and elderly who would appreciate property upkeep & company, are two good prospects. I've gardened in exchange for property upkeep, on unused land on a military base, behind a previous employer who was happy to have the added security after hours, and on a friend's rural property for the last 14 years. All of those sites had water available. If you put up "searching for" inquiries in local garden stores, you might be surprised at the response.

Just be sure to choose your sites wisely, or you will just be growing someone else's vegetables. I had to abandon one site in metro San Diego for that reason, when I lived there.

 

[Decoy1]

Dapple Grey
I've received seeds named as Dapple Grey which have very different colouring from the Dapple Grey I've grown before

Mine have been very much the same as the ones on your website, Russ - quite a light grey.
This second kind of bean is like the 'Dapple Grey" featured on Restoration Seeds site: https://www.restorationseeds.com/products/dapple-grey-bean.

Is it at all likely that growing conditions would make such a difference in colouring?

 

[flowerbug]

Dapple Grey
I've received seeds named as Dapple Grey which have very different colouring from the Dapple Grey I've grown before

Mine have been very much the same as the ones on your website, Russ - quite a light grey.
This second kind of bean is like the 'Dapple Grey" featured on Restoration Seeds site: https://www.restorationseeds.com/products/dapple-grey-bean.

Is it at all likely that growing conditions would make such a difference in colouring?

View attachment 35158

i'd consider that a selection from DG. having grown DG in a variety of soils i can say that they will come true to grey type.

in my picture upthread you can see some variations that spun off from a cross that happened to some DG beans that @Bluejay77 sent to me. when i planted them they were grey and i got back DG except for one bean planted i got back a bunch of brown beans with a silvery pattern overlaid. when i planted those silvery brown beans i got all sorts of variations. since i have not yet grown out all of the silvery brown beans i don't know if i've found all of them or not yet.

some of the DG beans do have some tan and brown hints on them, but i consider those traits to select out (and eat ).

 

[Blue-Jay]

@Decoy1,

I think I remember keeping some Dapple Grey seed around in a jar for a number of years, and I believe they will take on that similar appearance the you saw on the Restoration Seed website. I think if someone planted those Restorations Dapple Grey's they would probably get genuine gray seed again. That's my guess. Soil conditions can change the way some beans express their colors and sometimes even changes the pattern a bit.

What are those brown and white beans in your post? They almost look like the brown and white dairy cow.