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

[Zeedman]

If there are weevils in your area and you are sharing bean seeds with others freezing is very important, so hitchhikers don't tag along. And if someone is kind of enough to give you legume seeds, popping them in the freezer for 3 days is a very good idea. (Ask me how I know!)

C'Mon, fess up! I wanna hear your tale of woe!

I think everyone who collects beans has had at least one encounter with buggy seed. For me, once from exchanged seed, TWICE with commercial seed (from two well-known heirloom seed sellers ). Fortunately, I always quarantine new seed, so the infestation was contained. I was only able to save one of the infected varieties... and it turned out to also be misidentified (the wrong species). I have not done business with that company since.

The commercial seed was most disturbing, since they could potentially infect many other people's seed stocks - or even permanently introduce the weevils to someone's garden. I informed the companies involved.

 

[ducks4you]

There are a Lot of new seed companies. I got on an email list of one of them, I clicked on a link to one of their gardening products, Then I read their reviews, which were AWFUL!

 

[Blue-Jay]

Chocolate - Bush Dry. Left Photo. This bean comes from a school gardening project in Belfast, Maine in 2012.

Coco Sophie - Pole Dry. Right Photo. 6-7 foot vines. Pods 4-5 inches long, flattened and straight to slightly curved. Flowers white. 5-6 white, egg-shaped seeds per pod. Dates to 1700's, probably from the U.S. east coast originally and refined in Germany and France.


Chocolate.............................................................Coco Sophie

 

[Branching Out]

I LOVE this stepping stone with the smooth stones in it!
View attachment 71070
Where did you find it? AND, the nasturtiums are lovely, too. Now, I am Sold on Lacy blue Phacelia flowers. If they spread Half as well as the purple columbine that some bird dropped as a seed and as spread around my front walk and steps, I could be well pleased.

I would suggest planting a few small patches of Phacelia the first year, so you can learn about its growth habit. At maturity each plant is rather large, so if you let it run rampant it can be a lot of work to remove come June (it can be a bit scratchy too). This stepping stone was made by my grandpa using beach pebbles about 50 years ago. I remember watching him work, as he patiently waited until the surface of the cement was just firm enough; then he would meticulously press in the stones one by one with his massive thumb. He really enjoyed making benches and stepping stones with cement, and they have lasted very well.

 

[ducks4you]

What a blessing!
I Know what you mean about removing plants, BUT, if I had had the energy, I would have had the turnips spreading Everywhere this last year!
Where they filled in was so helpful, like in between my tomato fencing.
I will start the Phacelia in my wildflower bed and in DD's weedfest, that is separated from the other lawn's by cement sidewalks. We were hoping that the mint would take off there but it hasn't really filled in, probably bc it isn't as sunny as where I have mint growing at my place.

 

[Triffid]

What is this and is it planted from seed? Is it an annual? What does it look like and how large does it grow?

A lot of commentary on here already so apologies if I'm repeating anything!

Yes, it is an annual in the borage family and is planted from seed. It will self-seed prolifically if allowed. The seed is small but doesn't disperse far - it has naturalised on one particular patch on my allotment, growing and self-seeding 3-4 generations this year alone! Just cut back the old plants and the younger ones fill the gaps.

Sounds scary, but it's really easy to control in a garden setting. The plants grow up to 3ft, and are soft and entirely fleshy, quite like borage, but the leaf shape is lacy and tansy-like hence 'tanacetifolia'. So the seedlings are easy to identify and are swiftly dispatched with a light hoeing.

Seedlings can withstand a mild frost and I've had them overwinter here for early blooms, but winter will usually finish off a more mature crop.

The flowers are quite lovely, unfurling fiddlenecks, and the pollen is purple so the bumblebees fly around with violet breeches all summer.

 

[Triffid]

Has anyone heard of this bean?

Earlipol | Garden Organic

Garden Organic promotes organic growing and composting, citizen science and research, and seed conservation through our Heritage Seed Library. We want to help you garden 'the organic way', using natural methods to promote healthy, productive, sustainable gardens.

www.gardenorganic.org.uk

 

[Branching Out]

Just harvested another forty Network 'Grandma Rivera's Lima Bean' pods, and brought them inside to dry down. A couple were beginning to go a bit mushy, but for the most part they are still pretty solid. These plants were grown out in the open where they were rained on for the past couple of months. Tomorrow I will harvest the remainder of the pods, from a different patch that was grown under cover (it's mid-December, after all!!) I cracked open one of the leathery dry pods that I picked a couple of weeks ago, and there are actually Lima beans tucked inside! I can't stop staring at them. This is so cool. Good-sized seeds too, quite flat and about 7/8" long. The seeds that I planted were dark purple with white swirls, and these ones are primarily white with magenta purple swirls-- perhaps because of the soil, or maybe the cool summer? I suspect it will be January before these Lima bean seeds are dry enough to send back to you Blue Jay.