2023 Little Easy Bean Network - Beans Beyond The Colors Of A Rainbow

[flowerbug]

Ironically, that Kenya bag contained both the weevils AND some sort of bug that parasitized them (looked like a tiny housefly). Only guess which one DIDN'T set up a stable colony? (a fair number of both managed to fly out of the containers before I could catch them and drown them [that's what I did with the ones I caught] but, unlike the weevils, they seemed not to manage to find the weevil larvae and lay their eggs.

i collected and brought home some wild rose hips which had some kind of flying bug infestation. i put them in a sealed container and then came back a few weeks later and saw all these dead bugs inside the container. so glad i did not open them to have them flying all over the house!

 

[Pulsegleaner]

i collected and brought home some wild rose hips which had some kind of flying bug infestation. i put them in a sealed container and then came back a few weeks later and saw all these dead bugs inside the container. so glad i did not open them to have them flying all over the house!

Same thing happened to me in college with some odd looking bindweed seeds (normally, the seeds of the local bindweed are brown or black, these were tomato red.) Within a week or two, a bunch of little seed beetles popped out of at least half of them. Same thing again when I collected from the wild patch of trailing fuzzy bean by the railroad station.

 

[flowerbug]

and then there were three...

finished up the last full bag of Yellow Eye pods last night and this morning. now it will be on to those last three bags of Purple Doves to shell.

the Yellow Eye beans weren't that bad to shell out - if i'd had a full bag of Victoria Brown Eyes to shell out those would be tougher.

anyways, for my efforts i also have a full quart container of seed selections for replanting the Yellow Eye beans. i think i am making a bit of progress with them.

all told looks like 8-10lbs of Yellow Eye beans total (unless i have a bunch of pods hiding in these last three bags i don't know about) which is the most i've ever grown and i'm happy with them. Mom just says "Yummy!" when i show her the beans (and they are!).

 

[Blue-Jay]

if i'd had a full bag of Victoria Brown Eyes to shell out those would be tougher.

Have you every tried eating Victoria Brown Eyes as a snap bean. Robert Lobitz had them listed that way. Also have you ever tried these as a dry bean and if so what are they like. Are they solid when you bite into them when cooked or are they like Jacob's Cattle. You feel like you are almost bitting air.

 

[ZoeV]

Yes cowpeas are part of the family of beans and peas. They do count. I think you will have an enjoyable time with this group.

Thanks for the warm welcome again... Yes I am sure I will enjoy again and take deep breaths while I was looking for what you're growing

I am in Sydney and season i pretty much started here. I wasn't growing for a while for some reasons but this year back for gardening (hopeful) and now trying to refreshen the varieties I already have...

I wanted to find a network who are enthusiastic about legumes/beans here in Australia, I know there are a few collectors but unfortunately I couldn't reach any of them, so I am pretty my alone by myself looking for bean friends to talk and learn about more...

 

[Blue-Jay]

Hi @ZoeV,

Now that I know you are from Australia. There is and old bean originating with Sir Arthur Staley. Australian seedsman of the late 1800's and early 1900's. I would like to find one of his beans called "Staley's Star". I would like to ask you to be on the look out for it and acquire it if you can. I don't know how you would do it or even if the bean is still around, However I would like to find it. I have Arthur Staley's other original named bean called "Staley's Surprise"

Are you ever able to make contact with the Australian Seed Bank? I wonder if there is any seed companies in Australia that deals in old and or heirloom varieties who might know anything about "Staley's Star"?

Are there any Australian gardening forums that you could start a bean thread on?

 

[Zeedman]

I wanted to find a network who are enthusiastic about legumes/beans here in Australia, I know there are a few collectors but unfortunately I couldn't reach any of them, so I am pretty my alone by myself looking for bean friends to talk and learn about more...

You will certainly find a lot of bean & legume fans here. But have you ever contacted Diggers Club there in Australia? There are (or were?) bean enthusiasts there who I used to correspond with on another forum. That was years ago; but I see that the website is still active. Not much on the site about beans, but there are a lot of members... maybe start a forum thread there, you might be able to generate interest & find some like minds.
Diggers Club

 

[Blue-Jay]

I didn't find any gardening forums on the Diggers Club in Australia, but I Googled Gardening Forums in Australia and this is what I came up with.

Australian and New Zealand Gardening Discussion Forum​

The Gardenist Forum​

Australian Gardening Forum​

Lively garden forum​

G'day from Adelaide South Australia​

Gardening Australia​

Threads Tagged with Australia

@ZoeV if you don't find anything about beans on these forums you might have to get the ball rolling yourself and create those bean threads. Prior to 2013 I'm not sure there was much on beans on this forum but I started this and look at it now. Of course in addition if you get a bean thread going in Australia we'd certainly still love to have you stay with us here. It just might take time for those bean gardeners to find your thread.

 

[flowerbug]

Have you every tried eating Victoria Brown Eyes as a snap bean. Robert Lobitz had them listed that way.

if i did in previous seasons i failed to remember them enough to answer this question now. i know i did not sample them this past season.

Also have you ever tried these as a dry bean and if so what are they like. Are they solid when you bite into them when cooked or are they like Jacob's Cattle. You feel like you are almost bitting air.

i think i have cooked a few up as part of a mix but i can't recall them being different enough to comment. so i would guess they are about average.

next time i cook up some beans i'll put some in there to give a review. i used to have a perfect pan that i would use to cook up smaller batches of beans for eating and then i broke that so now i'm usually only making rather large pots of beans and which it would be tough to isolate a few beans from them for taste testing. i keep meaning to look for a replacement pan but i've not gotten that done yet...

 

[flowerbug]

@ZoeV if you can set up a small seed library with your local library you can also start that growing.