Cucumbers starting

[Zeedman]

Incidentally @Zeedman, you might want to consider the Galaxy White as well. While not the longest of long beans, it is supposedly VERY early (I've heard 60 days from seed to mature beans)

Your description seems to suggest that it is a bush variety? If "white" refers to the seed, I would be interested... the two white-seeded varieties I tried thus far were photo-period sensitive & failed. I see that Southern Exposure carried a "Galaxy White" at one time, but it is not listed on their website currently, so I can't get a detailed description (although they carry a white-seeded bush "snap" in their yardlong section).

The Yancheng Bush that I grow has a DTM of around 50 days; the Bush Sitao I am growing this year is about 60 days. The earliest pole yardlong I've grown is Asparagus Bean, at about 70 days.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Dunno about bush vs pole. The "White" refers to the color of the mature pods, the seeds are an off cream color.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/15-New-Org...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

What I am interested in is the fact that the pods are white. Ever since I found the "wax" cowpea in what grew from my plantings (and someone who grew a lot of cowpeas said they had never heard of a wax podded one) I have been interested in other white podded cowpeas; to see how rare this trait is (and hence, how much pressure is on me to keep the one I found going)

 

[Zeedman]

Oh, you mean pods that are white when mature. The photos of the pods in your link are unremarkable in the snap stage. That appears to be a pole variety. I've never seen ripe yardlong pods of that color. It makes me a little suspicious, since online photos are often doctored to make them more appealing.

More interesting to me than the mature pod color would be a yardlong bean bred to be eaten at that stage, pod & all. I admit that I've never tried that with any of mine, maybe I'll have to experiment the next time I miss a few pods (which would be next year). I have seen mature pods being sold in the Orient.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I've seen mature pods in Chinatown as well, but I always assumed they were simply picked a bit too late.

Actually, assuming the wax pod one's seeds are still good, that is sort of what you are describing. Besides being yellow, the pods were unusually "juicy". They looked more like snap beans than the more knobby pods cow peas normally have. Moreover, since the reason I have so few seeds is because the chipmunks kept pulling pods off and eating them, I imagine the taste is pretty good (even if as yet I have not had the opportunity to eat one)

I also used to have a speckled cow pea that, since I DID taste the pod I know to be rather sweet in taste. I don't think any made it through the onslaught this year, but cow peas of that type still show up from time to time in my hunts, so when I can start going back to the city, who knows?

 

[Pulsegleaner]

This is an OFFICIAL Photo (in the sense that what is being shown is definitely White Galaxy)

 

[Zeedman]

Impressive. I wonder about the fiber content of the pod, from appearances it is pretty low. The grower is looping the ripe pods over the support to keep them off the ground, I find it necessary to do that to prevent seed spoilage of the low-fiber varieties I grow (such as Taiwan Black this year.)

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Got my "White Galaxy" seed today, ready for next year.

Did a check on the back again, everything seems to be already winding down (we had a cold period a week or two ago, that may have started it).

The herbs are still there, but I don't think anything else is going to produce anything. No tomatoes on the tomato plants. The wild pigeon peas have no buds (knowing my luck they'll get them just in time for frost.) Nothing on the unknown mallow family member (and it's lost about half it's leaves already). Ditto the two sesbanias.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Of course, now that the season is nearly over, both the mallow thing and the one remaining cow pea have decided to put forth flower buds. The mallow thing I can at least take inside pre frost (since it's in a pot) but the cow pea is in the ground, and I know that digging up a flowering plant is a near sure way to get it to abort the flower. So I just have to hope the frosts stay away a while. Not a great hope, what with it being the end of October and it probably taking a month to go from flower bud to mature seed.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I'm not sure it was TOTALLY open when I took the photo, but the mallow things first flower opened today

Still not sure exactly what it is. Looks like something from the Abelmoschus genus but what species is unclear. A. moschatus (musk mallow) leaves have an extended middle section these don't (plus based on the online photos, the flowers are more yellow than this) . A. esculentus (okra) leaves are more dissected, and I don't think okra develops a thick woody center stem (or branches in this bushy shape)

Actually I think I may have Just found it, it matches very closely to A. angulosis . The leaves are a good match the zone of the Indian subcontinent is plausible (since the seed came out of my hunting, it would have to be something found in either, India or China) and the flower buds are a good match as well. Plus it's supposedly more resistant to cold than most of the genus which would explain it not withering up when the temps dropped.