A Seed Saver's Garden

[Ridgerunner]

Landfrauen. This bean has cropped as wonderfully as Louisiana. Tremendous production. If drying down continues to go well, I'll have plenty of this bean I think.
The 2 bean colours were from pods on the same plant. There were no dark ones in the original packet I was sent, so this must be a kind of marking reversal. Seems most beans do this even a little.

Did you notice any difference in the pods? Jas sometimes throws some reverses, not a lot. If a reverse shows it's just one bean in a pod with the others normal. The dark bean below is the reverse. The pods also occasionally reverse, a lot more often than the beans. There is no relationship to pod color and whether it has a reverse bean in it or not. My pod reversals are pretty dramatic, probably why I noticed it.

 

[flowerbug]

Did you notice any difference in the pods? Jas sometimes throws some reverses, not a lot. If a reverse shows it's just one bean in a pod with the others normal. The dark bean below is the reverse. The pods also occasionally reverse, a lot more often than the beans. There is no relationship to pod color and whether it has a reverse bean in it or not. My pod reversals are pretty dramatic, probably why I noticed it.
...

sometimes i have noticed reversals happening in every other bean inside a pod and like you say the outside of the pod may not have much relation to what is inside in terms of color/pattern.

 

[heirloomgal]

if those birdies are raiding dry peas i think you could try to decoy them with bird seed in a nearby feeder.

Good idea! I can't imagine how those teeny brown birds are swallowing the dried peas?!

 

[heirloomgal]

Did you notice any difference in the pods? Jas sometimes throws some reverses, not a lot. If a reverse shows it's just one bean in a pod with the others normal. The dark bean below is the reverse. The pods also occasionally reverse, a lot more often than the beans. There is no relationship to pod color and whether it has a reverse bean in it or not. My pod reversals are pretty dramatic, probably why I noticed it.

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I checked the pods and didn't see any reverse colourings at all on those; the odd thing is when I see reverse colourings it's usually as you posted, one odd duck in the pod with the others. In this case, the reversal was all the beans in one pod. I found that strange.

 

[heirloomgal]

So much seed fermenting & pod collecting to do right now. Trying to stay on top of everything so nothing gets ahead of me! (I have not always succeeded at this, lol) The tomatillos definitely have the potential to bury me if I don't keep up with them. 4 plants was too many! Also trying to make sure every bit of produce is either eaten, frozen or it's seed saved. This is what kept me busy this evening.

Thanks @Zeedman for the food processor tip, worked like a charm.

The cut up before the squish up...

4 o'clocks are pouring out seed, used a broom today to sweep up what they dropped - a small dust pan. I am so happy to have these flowers because I find deadheading so terribly boring and time cosuming. This is possibly the one flower I grow that needs virtually nothing (including deadheading) from me and will just keep flowering endlessly until frost.

'Mitla Black' starting to dry.

 

[heirloomgal]

Dug a new potato variety today. Wowee, the 'Purple Peruvian' that I planted looks just like the photos I've seen of the traditional potato varieties from the Andes - long, knobby and smallish. It is somewhat of a thrill to hold these in my hands, like a piece of an ancient world. This must be what archeologists feel when they discover a new fossil. While I really like the other purple potato 'Magic' I'm growing, this one is a whole different ball game. Sometimes gardening feels like time travel.

Forgot that I planted 2 yellow tomato types this year. Found some 'Yellow Mortgage Lifter' tomatoes yesterday!. Have always wanted this one in my collection! Finally

The only black variety I'm growing this year - 'Roger's Best Black'. Good thing too, because they generally seem to loathe hot summers.

'Ferris Heirloom'. A bean queen.

'Purple Dragon' carrots.

Had some fun doing 'hair and makeup' for Speckled Algonquin'.

 

[baymule]

Our preacher went to Peru to teach classes at a school for preachers. He went to the grocery store and was amazed by all the different varieties of potatoes. many of them were used for special occasions.

 

[heirloomgal]

It is funny how things work out sometimes. While this has been a gruesome gardening year, full of potholes you might say, it's strange how things can turn out okay anyhow. In 2020 I planted my last few Jacobs Cattle Gold beans, maybe 2 or 3. I'm not sure if I can buy them here anymore, but even if I can, I'm really trying to rely on my own seed stocks as I build them and not mentally default to the thinking 'I can just buy another packet'. So I planted those few and got a bumpy handful; they were in a planter so not as productive as in ground. Nonetheless, I took that little handful and planted again this year. The weather was insane, and the plants MAJORLY stunted. Looked like my rebuilding efforts would either be ending or pausing this year, because the runty little plant stubs looked awful all summer long. I mean seriously pathetic. I've now harvested nearly all the meager pods, and low and behold the beans inside were in very good shape & the production in the end was very surprising, much better than I had imagined it was. I haven't taken a photo of total harvest yet, but I took this picture last week. Kind of a miracle!

 

[baymule]

I am delighted that you got such a great harvest during such crazy weather. I calebrate with you!

I thought wine for a toast to your success, but I’m drinking coffee!

 

[flowerbug]

speaking of stunted plants that are persisting, i still have the FPJ plants blooming and trying to give me some seeds. none of the pods i've picked so far has had a viable bean in them. i hope they'll keep going but my guess is that this will be the last year i grow them unless i get really lucky next year somehow with them. i may not have any more FPJ seeds at all that will grow. we'll see...