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

[Blue-Jay]

My question is what does it take to get on the trial list, and what seeds are we working with?

If you want Network beans to grow or you want to get into those unnamed beans. All you have to do is email me at upadam@comcast.net. Let me know what you want to grow. I also have named beans that are not on the network pages. You perhaps might be interested to those also. What ever number of bean varieties you think you can handle. I will send them upon your request. Growers do pick beans on the Network probably according to what interests them. There are beans on the Networks pages that have never been grown out yet. Under their photo it is marked as Grown in ?

Also a big hearty bean welcome to our bean world here ! Glad you have joined us. If you love beans as much as all of us here do. You found a home for sure !

 

[flowerbug]

I think this is a wonderful idea. I am ready to play my part in seed preservation. I have spent the last few years moving, and then getting my garden space setup. I believe I am ready to take on something like this in the 2025 growing season. My question is what does it take to get on the trial list, and what seeds are we working with? Thanks in advance for your consideration.

welcome to the bean thread and TEG.

i'm curious what color those Hopi Purple String beans had for their flowers and are the pods purple or green?

 

[Branching Out]

More progress on the Lima bean front. The pods are thick and solid now, and in some cases the beans are beginning to make a little bulge that I can see and feel. We have about three weeks left until the first frost. They're growing under cover of the overhang of the roof and on nice days they get to bask in the autumn sun. Not certain if that will be enough protection from the elements to see them through to maturity, but I'm sure hoping so.

 

[heirloomgal]

'Madeira Maroon'
I only just learned that these can be eaten as snap beans too, I wish I had tried them! I researched them a bit too late. Seeds are very large, and the vines were productive. Very nice bean.

'Paulchen'
I am quite a fan of 'Dapple Grey', bit I think I may just like these even more! That speckly pink is just so nice. For a bush bean I thought the yield was really great and the seeds were all quite well formed.

'Fagiola de la Bereta'
This bean really is spectacular, a true navy blue with beigy gold speckles; unfortunately my vines seemed to struggle a bit and some of the beans were not formed well. There was a cross in the seeds that was aggressive and I think it stressed the other plants, crowding them and possibly robbing them of light. I am definitely going to try again with this one. I got plenty to at least try again. I can't seem to find it on Mr. Dirix's list anymore for some reason?

2024 bean jars mostly done

 

[Shades-of-Oregon]

This thread has been interesting to follow. I happen to run across a you tube video on ancient heirloom varieties of beans grown by ancient Native American tribes . Great info .

 

[flowerbug]

This thread has been interesting to follow. I happen to run across a you tube video on ancient heirloom varieties of beans grown by ancient Native American tribes . Great info .

as i was listening to him talk and watching the video his voice sounded very familiar. yes, it was the same guy i was watching a lot of his mouse trap videos as i was learning about mouse trapping and mouse behaviors...

the dark speckled bean he shows looks like a lighter version of one that showed up here this year, except mine has green in it. very unusual bean. i have no idea where the genes for this one came from, but i have grown various green colored beans hoping to get some more crosses and it looks to have worked. Fort Portal Jade is one of the green colored beans i've grown and then there was a Green Savage, but there have been a few others too which have ended up giving off green shades of various kinds - Monster was one of them (which came to me via Dapple Grey).

 

[heirloomgal]

Here is my annual post of highest yielders, and honourable mentions. For anyone interested in highly productive beans, this is for you. Of course, I suppose a single season may not be telling about a variety's general productivity, but it's a place to start.

For all the pole varieties, the weight is from 3 to 4 plants. I got the weight, bean and bean name in the shot so I won't type that separately.

Heaviest hitters - Appalachian pole beans

Best European producers for 2024

a semi runner, not pole

 

[Dahlia]

Here is my annual post of highest yielders, and honourable mentions. For anyone interested in highly productive beans, this is for you. Of course, I suppose a single season may not be telling about a variety's general productivity, but it's a place to start.

For all the pole varieties, the weight is from 3 to 4 plants. I got the weight, bean and bean name in the shot so I won't type that separately.

Heaviest hitters - Appalachian pole beans
View attachment 69969View attachment 69970View attachment 69971View attachment 69972View attachment 69973

Best European producers for 2024
View attachment 69974
View attachment 69975View attachment 69976View attachment 69977

a semi runner, not pole
View attachment 69979

I love how organized you are!

 

[heirloomgal]

Cont..../

BUSH BEANS

8 plants! Production of this variety was truly shocking, for my garden anyway (this is network bean Schwarze Valder, name got cut off lol)

Can't recall exactly, but about 8 - 10 plants

Purple Dove did so well, it actually makes me wonder if beans like being grown with kale? This was from 2 plants!

These 3 bush beans were all grown in a separate area together - all in part shade, a little underwatered because I worried about mould in the part shade conditions. They were also grown very crowded, each in separate blocks. Probably each variety had about 25 - 20 plants. I grew Johnson bean from @jbosmith in the same area, and that variety did really well too but I haven't taken a picture of that bean yet.

10 plants, in a little bit of shade

Honourable mentions. These were all direct seeded pole beans, unlike many of the above others.

This was a fabulously long podded green bean type, it also goes by the name 'Chinese Long'.

Couple more weights to post, will do them tomorrow. So much fun to actually put them to a scale and see how they did! p.s. @Blue-Jay did you see my question about Stibitz?

 

[Dahlia]

Cont..../

BUSH BEANS

8 plants! Production of this variety was truly shocking, for my garden anyway (this is network bean Schwarze Valder, name got cut off lol)
View attachment 69980

Can't recall exactly, but about 8 - 10 plants
View attachment 69982


Purple Dove did so well, it actually makes me wonder if beans like being grown with kale? This was from 2 plants!View attachment 69985

These 3 bush beans were all grown in a separate area together - all in part shade, a little underwatered because I worried about mould in the part shade conditions. They were also grown very crowded, each in separate blocks. Probably each variety had about 25 - 20 plants. I grew Johnson bean from @jbosmith in the same area, and that variety did really well too but I haven't taken a picture of that bean yet.

View attachment 69984View attachment 69981

View attachment 69983

10 plants, in a little bit of shade
View attachment 69988

Honourable mentions. These were all direct seeded pole beans, unlike many of the above others.View attachment 69989View attachment 69986

This was a fabulously long podded green bean type, it also goes by the name 'Chinese Long'.
View attachment 69987

Couple more weights to post, will do them tomorrow. So much fun to actually put them to a scale and see how they did! p.s. @Blue-Jay did you see my question about Stibitz?

I can't believe you grew all of these!!! How big is your garden(s)?