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

[heirloomgal]

@heirloomgal Despite the ups and downs of growing beans this season you did a fantabulous job with every single one you grew, and had a terrific display . count, weigh in, colors and descriptions on each one. You need to get a high tech bean counter to help you out. I think I would be going nutty if I had to count so many beans, besides eyes goin cross eyed.

High tech bean counter..
View attachment 70046

Awe, thank you @Shades-of-Oregon! Hahaha, too cute!

 

[Branching Out]

Back on July 28th I started a few Mascotte bush beans, and they have made it to maturity. They are growing in window boxes sitting on the ground close to the house and protected from the rain. There's a little bit of grey mold here and there; not much though, considering that I haven't done any upkeep on them and we had 15" of rain in October. The beans taste really succulent and juicy, perhaps because of the exposure to the cold nights. I will definitely try a late crop of bush snap beans again next year.

 

[Branching Out]

There was one last little pod of Coco de Belle Isle hanging on the vine, so I harvested it and liberated its two seeds. They are the plump blush pink ones that are shown sitting on the table. It's so interesting how the colour changes as the bean dries and ages. What sets this variety apart is the beautiful contrast of the clear white against the saturated pink; it's really a lovely seed coat. The tray of beans to the right of them were harvested in late September, and the ones in the round stainless steel bowl were picked in mid-October (you will note some staining on those beans, likely a result of the excessive precipitation that we experienced). On top of the round plastic container are three beans with a darker seed coat, which I suppose would be a reversal. Funny that of all of the beans only one pod had a reversal. There are also a few beans with what I think of as Yin and Yang type dots; one dot is pink with burgundy, and one has the colour of the reversal. Last year I grew this cultivar out as a Network bean in what was a difficult growing season; in the end there were just barely enough dry seeds to send back to Blue Jay. This year they did better, so it looks like I will get to cook some of them up and actually taste them. I'm looking forward to that.