Mottled Grey Bean Grow-Out, 2016 (Year 2) TAKE 2

[Pulsegleaner]

Hi

As you know from the previous thread, my last attempt at a grow out of Mottled Grey Beans met with total failure (due to unseasonable frost) So here is a thread for my next attempt (using about half of the seed previously to be used in Year 3)

I will continue to call this the Mottled grey bean grow out despite the fact that, by this point I am down to seed I am dubious actually IS Mottled Grey of any sort (particularly #'s 1 and 5)

So let us begin with a picture of the seed

From left to right

#1 small reddish maroon seeds (5)
#2 longish blackish brown seed (5)
#3 rounded brownish tan seeds (3)
#4 rounded brownish tan seeds smaller than #3 (6)
#5 longish to kidney shaped brownish to tan seeds with brown streaks (2)

As before will post updates as available

 

[Pulsegleaner]

A piece of good news, for once!

It looks like there was a "sleeper" seed in the MG pot, so I still have one seedling left!

 

[Pulsegleaner]

4/22/16

germinated seeds have been transferred to their growing pots. Germination was about 60% (though again a lot of the germinated seed is not well formed)

Types #2 and #5 show purple cot mottling (allying them to the black side) #1, #3, and #4 do not (allying them to the mottled side)

On additional survivor black MG has shown up but is not well formed.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Pots brough outside yesterday. the malformed survivor MG and the last round seeded red bean didn't make it but everything else seems to have.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Looks like the other volunteer didn't make it either; it seems it got too tall and etiolated inside and snapped in the first heavy rain. But all the other 12 are fine (though I'm a little worried about one of the mottled cot ones, it doesn't appear to be actually developing any leaves; just this nub between the cots)

 

[Pulsegleaner]

6/15/16

WE HAVE FLOWERS!!!!!!


On THREE of the ones in the no mottle pot (well 2 have flowers one has flower buds)

And there is yet more evidence that these second round plants are admixtures to the MG packets, rather than alternate strains. Not only are two of the plans apparently flowering without developing tendrils (actually only two of the nine plants in that pot have them) indicating probable bush identity (I have seen beans develop flowers before developing tendrils, but it doesn't happen often) but more significantly, both of those plants have flowers that are WHITE (Both Mottled Grey AND Fort Portal Violet have purple flowers; so does Bantu) The budded tendril one remains to be seen (remember there are at least two to three distinct types of beans in that pot, so having plants with different growth and flowering habits would not be at all surprising)

 

[Pulsegleaner]

As of this point, all or nearly all of the plants in the no-mottle pot have flowers or flower buds (probably all, but the plants are rather muddled at the base and it is hard to see what attaches where)

This includes the tendril plant that had buds; looks like those are white too.

And one of the first flowers does appear to have taken and is making the beginnings of a pod.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

7/18/2016

This previous Saturday, I noticed that all leaves had fallen off of several of the bean plants in the no mottle pot, and as that pretty much ends a plant, I though it best to harvest such pods as there were then. The seeds have dried by now and are shown below

All of these come from bush type plants (in fact they represent all of the bush type plants in the pot, the three remaining ones are climbers) Flowers were white, pods green to yellowish with a slight pink blush

Color is a little hard to describe. It's a lot paler than either of the starter seeds was, but for these beans that is not exactly unusual (when they had just dried, the speckled ones in previous years were basically purple specks on dead white, and only after ageing for a while began to more closely resemble the black and tan the original seed was. I guessing it's the tan one (which would mean the pole is probably the red one) but there seems to be a slight purple cast too. I know the pods were picked a little pre, but at least the older ones were on the verge of harvest anyway, so I have to assume that they are at their mature color.

That leaves the three climbers in that pot, one in the mottled (pole, purple flowers, one tiny pod start) and the volunteer in the garden (pale pink flowers, may be round pod)

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm noticing a difference in some of mine I grew for Russ just in a few days after harvest/hulling from pretty dried pods. Some pinks are turning more brown and the whites are less "muddy", if that is the right term. I think it takes a while for the mature color to develop after harvest. Those do look a lot lighter than the seeds you planted.

I see you are using yarn to color code which is which. I may have to steal that idea, I'm using pieces of paper with the info written on it. If I get a strong gust of wind in my workshop where I'm keeping them I could be in trouble. I have a chart for some showing which is which but some are in old coffee cans and those can get moved around.

 

[so lucky]

Whew! For a minute I thought Pulsegleaner was growing colored worms.