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

[Branching Out]

Someone is really getting into heirloom beans....... Nice harvest!

Thanks heirloomgal! My fascination with beans has definitely grown a lot in just a few short years.

 

[heartsong111]

Mbombo Green - Pole Dry Snap. Right Photo. The bean was nicely productive this past summer. This unique green colored seed can be used in soups or pods can be eaten as a green vegetable. The variety originates in Kenya Africa. To the people of the Kuba tribe Mbombo is associated with the Creator God. The bean itself is thought of as a sign of prosperity and bringing good fertility to the soil. Seed donor @Stephen Smith from Guthrie, Kentucky.

Ohio Pole - Pole Dry. Right Photo. This bean was one of my top producers this past summer with 20.75 ounces of beans (588 grams). About 95 days to first dry pods. Heavy producer of large 8 inch long pods. This late eighteenth century heirloom grown by the Miami people of Kekionga (present day Fort Wayne Indiana), as well as by the Delaware, Shawnee and Potawatomi peoples.

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Mbombo Green................................................Ohio Pole

The Mbombo has been on my very long wish list.

 

[Michael Lusk]

I've an odd question for the group. In the last week, I received my Seed Savers and Baker Creek Catalogs which are always happy finds in the mailbox. Though in looking at both, I notice what I feel like is a fairly big decline in the variety of beans they're offering.

Baker Creek only has 17 in the catalog this year...I dusted off the one from 5 years ago and they were offering over 50 in 2019. Seed Saver has 36 varieties for sale this year which is better, but I still feel like that's low considering they have over 50 peppers.

Maybe I'm just being bean-centric, but is this a trend anyone is seeing in any of the other catalogs?

 

[heirloomgal]

I've an odd question for the group. In the last week, I received my Seed Savers and Baker Creek Catalogs which are always happy finds in the mailbox. Though in looking at both, I notice what I feel like is a fairly big decline in the variety of beans they're offering.

Baker Creek only has 17 in the catalog this year...I dusted off the one from 5 years ago and they were offering over 50 in 2019. Seed Saver has 36 varieties for sale this year which is better, but I still feel like that's low considering they have over 50 peppers.

Maybe I'm just being bean-centric, but is this a trend anyone is seeing in any of the other catalogs?

I noticed that with Baker Creek as well, the number of bean varieties seemed small for such a large company with a devoted customer base. Given that they have to purchase (some anyway) from growers, maybe it isn't easy to find growers for beans? I found a real drop in bean offerings in various vendors since the gardening boom of 2020-2021, and they haven't seemed to bounce back.

I don't know much about SS or SSE, but I do think seed exchanges in general are -sadly-a dying breed. With all the online selling platforms out there, social media and diy websites, I can't help but wonder if they'll go extinct. I know the numbers being offered in the seed exchanges generally has been on a downward trajectory for awhile.

 

[ruralmamma]

I've an odd question for the group. In the last week, I received my Seed Savers and Baker Creek Catalogs which are always happy finds in the mailbox. Though in looking at both, I notice what I feel like is a fairly big decline in the variety of beans they're offering.

Baker Creek only has 17 in the catalog this year...I dusted off the one from 5 years ago and they were offering over 50 in 2019. Seed Saver has 36 varieties for sale this year which is better, but I still feel like that's low considering they have over 50 peppers.

Maybe I'm just being bean-centric, but is this a trend anyone is seeing in any of the other catalogs?

I always go to the bean section first and have noticed the same. The Baker Creek Whole Seed Catalog (paid version) and online lists more varieties but only a couple that I don't have and which pique my interest.

I took an interest in Appalachian beans after realizing our family variety wasn't available elsewhere and that's what fueled my love for growing and saving unique beans.

 

[Blue-Jay]

I've an odd question for the group. In the last week, I received my Seed Savers and Baker Creek Catalogs which are always happy finds in the mailbox. Though in looking at both, I notice what I feel like is a fairly big decline in the variety of beans they're offering.

Baker Creek only has 17 in the catalog this year...I dusted off the one from 5 years ago and they were offering over 50 in 2019. Seed Saver has 36 varieties for sale this year which is better, but I still feel like that's low considering they have over 50 peppers.

Maybe I'm just being bean-centric, but is this a trend anyone is seeing in any of the other catalogs?

The decrease in bean offerings could have something to do with some of their harvests not working out. There could also be a drop off in grower contracts for some reason. Dropping some varieties from their offerings could also be due to a drop in customer interest in some varieties. Vegetables grown in the garden in order of popularity are.

1. Tomatoes
2. Cucumbers
3. Sweet Peppers
4. Onions
5. Green Beans (dry beans are probably even lower on the list)
3. Hot Peppers
6. Carrots
7. Lettuce
8. Peas
9. Squash
10. Sweet Corn

 

[Blue-Jay]

Osborne & Clyde - Pole Dry. Left Photo. I have grown this bean as far back as 1980. It produces two different colors with the same pattern. The bean is very productive and produced a good size crop this year. 8 plants produced 17.85 ounces (506 gm).

Oude Sloveense - Right Photo. Pole snap bean yellow pods. Really nice quality seed but a very small harvest this year at 2.25 ounces (63 gm).


Osborne & Clyde................................................Oude Sloveense

 

[Zeedman]

I noticed that with Baker Creek as well, the number of bean varieties seemed small for such a large company with a devoted customer base. Given that they have to purchase (some anyway) from growers, maybe it isn't easy to find growers for beans? I found a real drop in bean offerings in various vendors since the gardening boom of 2020-2021, and they haven't seemed to bounce back.

I don't know much about SS or SSE, but I do think seed exchanges in general are -sadly-a dying breed. With all the online selling platforms out there, social media and diy websites, I can't help but wonder if they'll go extinct. I know the numbers being offered in the seed exchanges generally has been on a downward trajectory for awhile.

The problems I have with some of those small online sellers are:
(a) they tend not to stay in business very long,
(b) they sell the "seed du jour", and have no long-term interest in preservation, and
(c) they are too often more focused on short-term profit, than on seed quality. The seed purity can be a gamble (as I observed this year with a pepper obtained from one of those small sellers) and they often sell very small quantities of seed for ridiculous prices. IMO, bean counters make poor bean growers.

There are undoubtedly some good, dedicated small growers out there, but unless they have been around long enough for people to post reviews, it's hard to know who to trust. @Blue-Jay and @Eleanor are a couple of the good ones.

Ever-tightening postal regulations have seriously reduced the sharing of seeds across national borders too, to the point where it is nearly impossible to exchange with those in some countries.

Seed exchanges have been diminishing for quite a few years now. The surge in heirloom seed companies has undoubtedly been a factor, as has the proliferation of online sellers. The sad thing is that all of those factors detract from & weaken the few organizations dedicated to long-term preservation of diversity. That some of those organizations sometimes shoot themselves in the foot managerially doesn't help either.

I've been tracking the gradual decline of SSE for many years now; those offering seeds there are only 1/3 of the number in their peak years. Ironically, their success in promoting heirloom seeds has led to the creation of their own competition.