2024 Little Easy Bean Network - Growing Heirloom Beans Of Today And Tomorrow

[Decoy1]

I’ve had two or three isolated plants wilt and die too for no apparent reason. Flowerbug’s description of ‘vascular collapse’ feels just right.
It’s certainly been unusually hot for a few days here, but then again, not compared with many places. Beans are mysterious creatures sometimes.

 

[Neen5MI]

I'm celebrating the edamame harvest today! We enjoyed a modest snack in front of the TV a couple days ago, and a veritable pot full for breakfast today. I grew them for the first time this year. Lost a ton at one location to deer, but great success in another spot. I have one variety that is way taller than I expected, just now blossoming, and lower branches are partially separating from the stem and laying down on the ground. The leaves continue to look healthy, and retrofitting a support at this point would do more harm than good, I think. Fingers crossed to at least get seed for next year. I think the name is Moon Cake.

This is my first year growing network beans, and I'm very pleased with progress. I hope my performance falls within the range of "meets expectations" in this wonderful and generous system. Of 8 network beans, 6 have set tons of pods, and I'm confident of an abundant harvest. Frost, the bean, is just now flowering on a luscious column of vines. No pods yet, but there's time. Sadly, none of the Ijevan Black Cherry/Giant Mix ever germinated. I hope that bean is in the hands of other growers, and making a better showing with them. It's a beauty.

Finally, as I explore bean descriptions online, I've run across the phrase "used as a full bean" or similar. I'm not sure what that means. Is it a stage of maturity, or method of preparation for use? Both?

 

[flowerbug]

...
Finally, as I explore bean descriptions online, I've run across the phrase "used as a full bean" or similar. I'm not sure what that means. Is it a stage of maturity, or method of preparation for use? Both?

i'm glad things are growing well for you.

full bean i would take to mean when the seeds have developed inside the pods. for many beans eaten fresh most people do not want the seeds to be very big and they can be bitter or have an off taste for some varieties. on the other hand greasy beans tend to be edible at the full pod stage and they have more nutrition when at this stage so they are a good source of protein. if you look up leather britches they are also often picked at a fuller stage of growth.

the Purple Dove beans that i grow a lot of are not very good when allowed to go that long, but the developed beans can be shelled out and cooked as a shelly bean and they are just like if cooked from dried beans, but faster (by about half if i remember right )...

 

[Neen5MI]

full bean i would take to mean when the seeds have developed inside the pods. for many beans eaten fresh most people do not want the seeds to be very big and they can be bitter or have an off taste for some varieties. on the other hand greasy beans tend to be edible at the full pod stage and they have more nutrition when at this stage so they are a good source of protein. if you look up leather britches they are also often picked at a fuller stage of growth.

the Purple Dove beans that i grow a lot of are not very good when allowed to go that long, but the developed beans can be shelled out and cooked as a shelly bean and they are just like if cooked from dried beans, but faster (by about half if i remember right )...

Thank you. That makes sense. For my gardening and harvest style, I should err on the side of varieties that can be used "full" as well as immature snap and dry!

 

[flowerbug]

Thank you. That makes sense. For my gardening and harvest style, I should err on the side of varieties that can be used "full" as well as immature snap and dry!

if you have enough space for it staggering your plantings of one variety of bean will give you the perfect stage several times. i plant multiple varieties of beans and also stagger plant so that there is usually some fresh beans someplace in my gardens if i can find the time to pick them.

i've also been having good luck with early plantings of beans (every few weeks plant another row). this is a nice way of asking nature when for a particular year was a good time to plant. if the earliest rows don't make it you can always replant them again later.

 

[Neen5MI]

if you have enough space for it staggering your plantings of one variety of bean will give you the perfect stage several times. i plant multiple varieties of beans and also stagger plant so that there is usually some fresh beans someplace in my gardens if i can find the time to pick them.

i've also been having good luck with early plantings of beans (every few weeks plant another row). this is a nice way of asking nature when for a particular year was a good time to plant. if the earliest rows don't make it you can always replant them again later.

Many would envy my space, but is it ever enough? The approach you describe sounds delightfully premeditated, measured and logical. Unfortunately, I have so many irons in the fire, and a weakness for trying new bean varieties, that I couldn't pull it off. I generally prep my beds in the spring, watch the weather trends and then it's, "BEANS, NOW!" and I have a 48 hour window (probably actually 24) to get everything in. Then it's on to other tasks, which is why I love dry beans so much. They proceed with the miracle and just hang out (literally) until I have time to harvest. My strategy is to plant varieties (still collecting) that do well as snap or dry, in a frequented area of the garden, so they can tap me on the shoulder as I fly by and say, "Hey, green beans anyone?" That's also an advantage of pole beans. They can actually reach my shoulder!

 

[Neen5MI]

So, I'm shopping for potential network beans to request for next year (Call me crazy. Not gonna argue.) and love the look of Kiagara Mame. I just happen to have a temporary housemate whose first language is Japanese, and knowing "mame" is Japanese for bean, I asked what Kiagara might mean. She had no clue, but did some googling, including for "rare bean", and found Kaigara (2 letters reversed), meaning Kai = seashell and gara = design. Known variety grown in the Hokkaido region of Japan. Images associated with the name seem to be very similar, though there are some color variations. Bean sleuthing! Love it! I'll request and grow under the currently assigned name, but treasure the challenge of linguistic hiccups.

I also found an identical appearing seed listed by Great Lakes Staple Seeds as Kaimame.

 

[heirloomgal]

Vascular collapse, never heard of this, I'm going to do some research. This may very well be what happened. There doesn't seem to be any visible problem.

Now that things have gotten so hot, day and night (it was over 90F/32C today) I'm in a bit of a quandary with what to do about watering. On the one hand, the soil isn't parched as the season has had plenty of rainfall. Nothing is wilting. At the same time though, the plants are going to need water at some point as the heat continues. I'm feeling afraid to water, since that last plant death seems to have been brought on by a thorough watering I gave that bed the night before and the next morning the plant was dying. I worry about mold developing too in this high humidity.

For the first time I'm thinking of making the beans tough things out more than I normally do, given that many plants are growing a bit prostrate. I have always been generous with watering them, wanting the seeds to form well, but I probably always provided more than was necessary. Decisions, decisions. Ugh. For today - no water.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Summer Bean Show 2024 Vol. #14

Bean on the left looks like Bosnian that hasn't darkened much yet. The bean on the right sure has a unique seed coat with a single black stripe on the bottom of the seed opposite the eye. I would like to grow a bean that looks like that.


Bean #25...........................................................Bean #26

 

[heirloomgal]

Much to my surprise, I saw this evening that a few bush beans actually had dried pods. Wow! I will take better pictures of these once I've harvested all, but I was so excited to have some newly dried pods I took some pics.

Eden Valley!

The Porcelain beans that I got from Europe also had some dried pods. I was quite surprised that these are drying down so soon. Beans from across the big waters can be hit or miss for me with maturity, but these are clearly good for my zone. Truly a delightful shade of angelic mauve, quite glossy - very different from Lavender Bush as well as the Lobitz beans with purple shading (which are a matte finish). Very hard to capture it on camera. A touch of blue and pink in the mauve I think in the flesh.

First Grumbliai pod dried!

Network bean Stibitz has a surprising shade of pods - pinkish red. They have not grown correctly, more prostrate than up, but they nonetheless have set some pods (thank goodness).

Dinah's Climbing.

Network bean Stayley's Star. This one turned out to be a true bush variety, not a pole. Only 2 of the 4 seeds sprouted! But the plants are doing well and the pod set is good.

The Pink Quartz semi-runner beans have not touched their support yet. Ugh. I just can't stand it when climbers have pods hanging against the ground and refuse to climb.

Another one doing the same prostrate thing, but it's a network bean. One I really really really want to do well.