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

[Blue-Jay]

Dixie Speckled Butterpea - Bush Lima. Photo Left. Productive small lima. This bean came from Remy Orlowski's Sample Seed shop after her passing via Karen Golden of Highland, Michigan in 2022. This years network grower was from Mason, Michigan

Drabo - Bush Dry Left Photo. Bean from Switzerland. This years grower is from Jefferson, Maine.


Dixie Speckled Butterpea - Bush Lima...................Drabo - Bush Dry

 

[Zeedman]

Dixie Speckled Butterpea - Bush Lima. Photo Left. Productive small lima. This bean came from Remy Orlowski's Sample Seed shop after her passing via Karen Golden of Highland, Michigan in 2022. This years network grower was from Mason, Michigan

Glad to see some of Remy's collection being maintained. She was a devoted preservationist, and a generous caring person. We lost her too soon.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Elder - Pole Dry. Left Photo. This bean is a segregation of the Will Bonsall collection I received in 2015. In 2015 this segregation did not exist yet. This bean is on a newer copy of my spreadsheet as WB-PKT #27.8. My older spread sheet goes to WB-PKT #27.3. Jerry Maddox who now lives in Louisiana grew the original WB-PKT #27. Many of it's segregations he never named. Jerry turned in to me all the Bonsall beans he has been working with since 2016 in 2023 plus printed sheets on everything. I had not typed in on my spread sheet any informtion on this bean other than it was grown by Jerry Maddox. I also wondered how the grower of this bean even got a hold of it to grow this year. The grower must have made some choices then asked me to add something else. I somehow I think, just picked this bean perhaps randomly. Jerry turned in 7 new segregations just on WB-PKT #27. I made up the segregation numbers. Jerry simply gave me print outs of the information he had on each of these new beans. At first I couldn't figure out where could there be any information on this bean. I finallly decided to look through Jerry's print outs. It must have taken me a half hour to come across a sheet that described a plum colored bean and it was the only segregation that mentioned this color in all the sheets he sent to me. Jerry's notes said in his grow out this bean repeated once. It had to mean no off types from the grow out. This years grower in Maine didn't mention or turn in any off types. So this bean has repeated itself a second time. I would bet that it's likely going to turn out to be stable. The grower said they picked lots of Elderberries this summer so they named it Elder. The bean has a beautiful shade and the dark eye ring seems to really contrast the color nicely.

Fowler Pole - Pole Snap? Right Photo. The person I got the bush form from simply named Fowler sent me this bean too. I don't know if this bean has the same power to seemingly reply Japanese beetles. I also have never tried it as a snap bean so it may or may not have that useage. However it's seed shape and size seem similar to a snap bean.


Elder.......................................................................Fowler Pole

 

[Blue-Jay]

Frost - Pole Dry. Left Photo. A pre 1796 bean I acquired from a grower in Bozeman, Montana in 2018. I wonder if the bean has been used as a snap bean. The idea of it's name is that it produces until frost in the autumn hence it's name. Previous to this year I sent this bean out to growers seven times and only one return came back since 2020. This year in 2024 two growers grew the bean and both retuned lots of beautiful seed. Growers were from Mason, Michigan and De Soto, Wisconsin.

Fruhe Goldbohne - Bush Dry. Right Photo. German bean I believe that I acquired from a bean friend in Austria. One of my most requested beans.


Frost.......................................................................Fruhe Goldbohne

 

[flowerbug]

@Blue-Jay Fowler looks like Fortex.

and i do recall trying to grow a bean similar to Frost called Monk's Beard and didn't have very good results from it.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Elder - Pole Dry. Left Photo. This bean is a segregation of the Will Bonsall collection I received in 2015. In 2015 this segregation did not exist yet. This bean is on a newer copy of my spreadsheet as WB-PKT #27.8. My older spread sheet goes to WB-PKT #27.3. Jerry Maddox who now lives in Louisiana grew the original WB-PKT #27. Many of it's segregations he never named. Jerry turned in to me all the Bonsall beans he has been working with since 2016 in 2023 plus printed sheets on everything. I had not typed in on my spread sheet any informtion on this bean other than it was grown by Jerry Maddox. I also wondered how the grower of this bean even got a hold of it to grow this year. The grower must have made some choices then asked me to add something else. I somehow I think, just picked this bean perhaps randomly. Jerry turned in 7 new segregations just on WB-PKT #27. I made up the segregation numbers. Jerry simply gave me print outs of the information he had on each of these new beans. At first I couldn't figure out where could there be any information on this bean. I finallly decided to look through Jerry's print outs. It must have taken me a half hour to come across a sheet that described a plum colored bean and it was the only segregation that mentioned this color in all the sheets he sent to me. Jerry's notes said in his grow out this bean repeated once. It had to mean no off types from the grow out. This years grower in Maine didn't mention or turn in any off types. So this bean has repeated itself a second time. I would bet that it's likely going to turn out to be stable. The grower said they picked lots of Elderberries this summer so they named it Elder. The bean has a beautiful shade and the dark eye ring seems to really contrast the color nicely.


View attachment 71118

Elder

Russ, that has to be a segregation that started with the #27 packet you sent me. Through the years I had 32 segregations from that original #27 packet of beans, I don't know how many I sent you. I did limit what I sent you due to quality how many looked alike, and several just did not reproduce when I tried to grow them. I consider this one of the prettiest of all of them. That black hilum really sets it off.

When I planted the parent of my bean I probably planted 5 seeds but only harvested from one plant. That was a bad year weatherwise. It repeated but if others had lived there might have been other segregations. I just don't know. I sure hope it is stable.

I lost a lot of my records in a computer crash. I probably sent this to a forum member who asked for seeds and wanted to play with segregations. Could have been in 2021 or 2022. We discussed it on your bean thread, whatever year it was. I told them I wanted them to come up with their own name. If they are growing it to stability, it is their bean to name. You probably did not send it, I probably did. Since they were on the bean network they know who you are.

My records show a flower with a pink keel and cream colored wings, a half-runner. and fairly prolific. I did not get the pod color or shape.

Thanks, this kind of made my day. I'm very pleased.

 

[Blue-Jay]

@Ridgerunner I don't know what you mean about I didn't send the bean. This years grower of this bean I'm sure got their sample of the plum colored bean from me. This grower from Maine hasn't grown beans for me before this year. Can you elaborate. I must of had this bean because you sent me the sheet that describes this bean that eventually evolved from #27 as plum colored. I'm sure you sent me a bean that matched every sheet you sent to me.

I keep a record of every package and order I send out. I've got the bean typed and listed on my growers order for beans as No Name Wb-Pkt 27.8. I shipped their order January 5, 2024. So anything that is in my hands I have decided that if I want them to name a bean they can. They returned their grow out sample with the return packet I had sent them and no change in name. I then emailed them and told them they could name the bean. They emailed me back and said since they picked so many Elderberries this summer. They would name the bean Elder.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Russ, I checked the correspondence. I did not send out these beans. False memory in my part. Sorry.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Russ, I checked the correspondence. I did not send out these beans. False memory in my part. Sorry.

No problem. I just wanted to verify that I wasn't going out of my mind.

 

[Zeedman]

@Blue-Jay Fowler looks like Fortex.

Agreed. I know there are only so many colors in the bean palette, but I doubt I could separate the two of mixed together.