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

Blue-Jay

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How do these seed swaps typically work? I've never been to one.

You can sell at a seed swap. Which you would ask in advance for a table to display what you have to sell. You can attend a swap. If you just attend you can purchase anything for sale at these events. If you bring seed with you as an attendee. You can swap with one of the vendors if they want to swap with you what seeds you have brought to the swap. There is more purchasing going on at these swaps than trading seeds.
 
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flowerbug

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How do these seed swaps typically work? I've never been to one.

if you are a bean collector and willing to take some time i will have most or all of my bean collection with me at the mid-Michigan seed swap that is coming up in about a month. you can sit there and take samples of any beans i have with me as long as they aren't the newest ones where i may only have a few seeds to start with. :) see the other forum for swap, sales, for details...

this offer is open to anyone. :) first come, first served.
 

Decoy1

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Suprise of Surprises. I had gone away Friday for another seed swap in Nobelsville, Indiana and when I got back upon checking the mailbox. I found two packages of beans. One from @heirloomgal and the big shocker was a box that had been opened an resealed with USDA Aphis packaging tape. A box from @Decoy1. I almost fell over when I go it into the house to have a better look at all the labels on the package.

So maybe there is still hope for a package from France to get here. Time will tell.
That's brilliant news. I'd pretty well given up hope. I hope the contents are in good order.
 

Triffid

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Suprise of Surprises. I had gone away Friday for another seed swap in Nobelsville, Indiana and when I got back upon checking the mailbox. I found two packages of beans. One from @heirloomgal and the big shocker was a box that had been opened an resealed with USDA Aphis packaging tape. A box from @Decoy1. I almost fell over when I go it into the house to have a better look at all the labels on the package.

So maybe there is still hope for a package from France to get here. Time will tell.

💃 Happy days! 🕺
 

flowerbug

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...
when i find the sample i have left i'll get some pictures.

on yet another closer look, no picture required, the faint yellow striped bean was a single off-type from the out-cross and not at all like the rest of them so from the looks of it a Lemon Slice and not a Half White (and the faint pattern on those is like a pinto bean) - there's no white part on that bean.
 

flowerbug

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bean and Christmas ham soup turned out great, which is a good thing because we've been eating it all week. one more container to go. it was a mix of beans used including the Great Northern beans, Purple Dove and then some random brown beans which turned out to be very good, firm but a good creamy texture. unfortunately i cooked all of them... :/
 

Branching Out

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bean and Christmas ham soup turned out great, which is a good thing because we've been eating it all week. one more container to go. it was a mix of beans used including the Great Northern beans, Purple Dove and then some random brown beans which turned out to be very good, firm but a good creamy texture. unfortunately i cooked all of them... :/
Your soup sounds delicious, but you have no more of the good, firm but creamy beans for replanting?? That would be very sad. :confused:
 

flowerbug

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Your soup sounds delicious, but you have no more of the good, firm but creamy beans for replanting?? That would be very sad. :confused:

i have so many beans here that i really could not say for sure if i have any others like them. also since they were a new bean there's no sure thing in replanting them and getting the same bean back.

i have a small project to do this week to replace some seed samples with fresher beans grown this year of the same ones and there is a chance that the seeds i'll be swapping out may have more of the brown beans hiding in them, but i won't know until i grow them. they would also potentially include more other edible fresh beans so there is some incentive for me to do the switch and to grow the older beans out.

i have a large number of beans that are good eating as dry beans. there's no reason to worry i'll ever run out of those. :)
 

jbrobin09

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Yay! How many beans do you generally grow in a season?
Up til now it’s probably 7 or 8 per year but we are adding a whole new section of gardens this spring so I’m hoping to grow out around 20? We will have to see if we can get it all done and ready in time for planting.
 
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