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

[Blue-Jay]

Grandma Barnett - Pole Snap. Left Photo. The grandmother of a very well known Kentucky bean grower grew this bean. I don't know if it's stringless or if you have to destring the pods. Before Remy Orlowski passed away she offered this bean on her online Sample Seed Shop website. Karen Golden of Higland Michigan got a hold of as much of Remy's bean collection as she could and gave me seed samples of Remy's collection. This years grower is from Louisville, Kentucky.

Romainian Large Plum Speckle - Pole Dry. Large rounded cranberry type beans. Brought to North America by world traveler and seed collector Joseph Simcox. I acquired this bean from a then high school student in Marion, Iowa in 2017. This years grower is from Indianapolis, Indiana.

 

[flowerbug]

This bean I have must not be an authentic Lengua de Lobo. I posted it on a facebook bean group and Guy Dirix tells me he's grown Lengua de Lobo and it's one of the earliest beans he's ever grown. He tells me it has purple pods. It's amazing that the bean I have has the same color and color tone that his bean has. ....

all i can say from my own experience is that "stuff happens"...

if i didn't see this from my own eyes and know the facts beforehand i was shelling beans and had a flat of pods that were partially opened and i knew they did not have any off types showing in them. anyways i was shelling Purple Dove beans and one of them flew off and landed in that flat and got in one of the pods so when i went to find the bean that flew off and landed in that flat to someone who didn't know better they'd have thought that one bean out of five was a Purple Dove outcross. nope, it was just a random chance happening from a lucky bounce.

i've had other rather lucky bounces too but not one that got in a partially opened pod like that.

 

[heirloomgal]

This bean I have must not be an authentic Lengua de Lobo. I posted it on a facebook bean group and Guy Dirix tells me he's grown Lengua de Lobo and it's one of the earliest beans he's ever grown. He tells me it has purple pods. It's amazing that the bean I have has the same color and color tone that his bean has. Same seed shape and by the looks of his photo I would bet it has about the same size seed too. So how was it that Joesph Simcox had this bean marked Lengua de Lobo. Goodness only knows. I don't think the grower would have given me false information. The bean is supposed to have Romano type wide flat pods.

Maybe someone put some selection work into it? To get a shorter season version? I'd never heard of this bean until I saw it on your website, just a guess?

 

[Blue-Jay]

Soissons Large white - Pole Dry. Photo Left. A rare heirloom bean grown since the mid eighteenth century near Soissons, France. According to some, a French strain of the old fashioned Case Knife Bean. It was introduced to America in 1841 according to the Magazine of Horticulture. This bean was famous for its large white seed which has a sweet taste and thin skin, making it delicious in many dishes such as cassoulets, soups, pureed or added to salads. It became quite rare for many years but is now making a comeback in France. The green pods can be eaten when very young, but it is the large white plump seed that is generally used and made it so sought after as a dry bean. This years growers were from Hallowell, Maine and DeSoto, Wisconsin.

September Blue - Pole. Right Photo. This is a bean that I have selected out of a crossed bean and named that was sent to me by Will Bonsall in 2015. What I have heard from people that grow blue beans is that they produce tan beans also depending on temperature when the seeds are forming. I keep seelecting this one for the bluest seeds I can find each time it is grown but perhaps this is only an excercise in futility. I am always hoping for a bean the will produce perhaps a nice sky blue bean and no tan seeds everytime it's grown. This years grower is from DeSoto, Wisconsin.

 

[ruralmamma]

@Blue-Jay, I have seeds ready to go out to you tomorrow. Would you or anyone else also be interested in seeds originally acquired from the USDA seed bank? One is Bhatmash which was a good producer but took 90 days to flower which is a little too long for my growing season as I was fighting frost to harvest seed. The other is San Fiacre which is a flat pod romano type with really good flavor and an excellent producer as well.

 

[Dahlia]

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 love garden stepping stones. I saw a beautiful turtle stepping stone on Pinterest by someone named Rosanne. I will post her turtle!

 

[heirloomgal]

Has anyone heard of, or grown, Wooly beans?

 

[Neen5MI]

I would love to try the San Fiacre! I'm exploring Romano type beans in 2025, and have always had a soft spot for the patron saint of gardening/agriculture. No one has it listed on SSE. I'll private message you.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Has anyone heard of, or grown, Wooly beans?

I have never heard of Wooly beans. Have you seen a description of what they are like?

 

[Blue-Jay]

Staley's Surprise - Bush/Dry/Snap? Photo Left. Sir Aurthur Staley was an Australian seedsman of the late 19th and early 20th century. He had two original beans. One was a bush and one a pole growth habit. I don't know if this bean is actually a snap bean or dry bean. I've never tried them for fresh eating. This years grower is from Pella, Iowa.

Swedish Brown - Bush Dry. Photo Right, A Swedish bean that has been used popularly in the U.S. as a baked bean. On the Island of Öland, situated in the south of Sweden in the Baltic Sea, the cultivation of brown beans, or “brua bönor”, can be traced back to around 1650. Today dry brown beans are still cultivated on Öland. This years growers are from Jefferson, Maine and Los Lucas, New Mexico.


Staley's Surprise................................................Swedish Brown