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

[Pulsegleaner]

Hi all

Well, about a week or so ago, as planned, I started this years grow out of the Mottled Grey beans I got a few years ago from Richter's seeds in a big starter pot indoors (that's one of the very few advantages of dealing with this Andean mess, the fact it IS an Andean bean gives it a bit of an edge on most of them with regards to cool weather so I can start them quite early and grab a bit of extra growth season), thus beginning Year 2 of my three to four year grow plan.

This being Year 2, as I planned I have planted exclusively those seeds from what I received whose seed coats are flat black/dark purple with no speckles (Year 1 mottled seed, Year 2 black seed, Year 3 all other leftovers (lightly speckled, red, brown etc, plus any other old seed left) Year 4 plant seed gotten from first 3 years and being increase (3 and 4 possibly being combined, depending on amount gotten in years 1 and 2). As in previous years germination is about 60% (old seed), healthy germination (i.e. seeds that are no developing twisted or otherwise malformed radicles that will be removed eventually since the plants that will result will be weak) about 40%

One surprise has already shown up that is of significance; namely, that most to possibly all of the emerging seeds show purple mottling on the cotyledons, as one would expect from growing Fort Portal Violet beans. The odd thing about that is that NONE of the beans last year showed this, nor, indeed has any other mottled grey planted with one exception. There was a mottled cot seedling that showed up in the very first planting I did, but I always assumed that that one was the result of a Fort Portal Violet bean (which in the original seed could come in a shade that was more or less the same as the black Mottled grey) falling over the edge of the cell it was stored in and winding up in the MG's next to it. But now I'm not so sure.

In fact, this ratio is so dramatic (as far as can be told 100% non mottled seed having mottled cots and 0% of mottled having them) I am tempted to almost wonder if the appearance of the variety is completely artificial, if what I am dealing with is not one bean type with two different color morphs but two completely discrete strains. I have long known that ironically, Mottled grey was a far more diverse group of beans than Fort Portal Mixed/Violet (which only looked mixed until the first generation came back, then became almost completely homogeneous.) Now I'm wondering if when Joe Simcox found this bean in Uganda he actually was looking at a primarily two bean blend of strains with similar growing needs; a "true" mottled grey that was always mottled (and would therefore be sort of like Pebblestone or comparable mottled African beans, and a black/dark purple seeded bean that was a selection of something like Fort Portal Mixed. I suppose as the year progresses I'll just have to watch and see whether 1. this batch behaves more like PFV than MG (that actually would result in a bigger crop for me, since FPV is a LOT more tolerant of my warmth and day length than MG is) and 2. If all seed that comes back is still free of mottle (if there is any seed that comes out looking like last years, it would indicate the two can switch between each other and are probably the same thing)

Will keep all posted

 

[journey11]

You keep good records. I can't wait to see how they turn out.

 

[aftermidnight]

Me too, I love projects like this are they a bush bean or pole? I grew Fort portal Jade one year but gave the seed away as I don't grow many bush beans.
Last year I grew one pole of Red Eye Fall, I only had a sample so grew them strictly for seed. They started out with the name Red Eye Greasy but the name they finally ended up with was Red Eye Fall.
Two pods gave me some solid colored seed, I don't know if this is a reversion of color because of the heat we had or if it's an actual mutation, the rest of the pods had a normal color pattern. I'm going to grow these oddballs out this year to see if they stay the same or if they revert back to cream with a red eyes.

It would be kind of neat if it really was a stable mutation, if it is "Bloodshot" might be a fitting name . I didn't even taste any but all that have eaten them say they're pretty good.

Annette

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I usually classify them as "pole" since, when the plants grow any reasonably height, they tend to become vines (MG likes it so little here that a great many plants more or less never get past the 3-4 leaf stage. They go that far, make one or two flowers/pods (which often abort) and that's it). That, and forking is pretty light (for ambiguous cases, I often guess bush or pole based on how many times the plant divides. Bushes should usually divide more than poles, since there is an upper limit to how tall they can go straight up without gravity becoming an issue (which gives advantage to plants that multiply themselves by putting up a lot of short branches over one or a few long ones). Mostly linear, with a few that divide once or twice (often when the main branch is dying). Though they really aren't all that good of climbers (or more accurately aren't all that good at climbing in the same direction or following the line of support, I usually have to all but tie the whole length to the pole to keep it on track).

Other ways to tell if they are one might be to count pod nodes (places where a seed could develop) as the pods develop. FPV usually tops out at three nodes per pod (that in fact is what mainly separates FPV from FPVS (Fort Portal Violet Supreme), FPVS has an extra pod node or two so the pods can get a bit bigger) Whereas one of my MG's last year had pods with TEN nodes (only three took, but we are counting potential nodes, not actual seeds) So anything with four or more nodes would strongly suggest not FPV.

A Little later I'm starting another pod with a different experiment. In the bean mix I was mining over the last few years for cowpeas, there is a common bean as a component. Normally this being is a sort of kidney like bean, brick red thin and elongated. However on occasion an odd bean has shown up and been saved. Some are minor variants (mottled skins, pinker color, and the odd black or white seed) but handful are dramatically different, short purple and nearly round (they look kind of like Appalachian beans, though I have no clue how those could get to China) So I'm planting those out to see how they stabilize.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

3/8

Mottled grey pot has been taken out to the patio to begin it's outdoor phase.

Additional empty pot has been brought in to be planted with round beans

Once that it done a third bean pot will be prepared with the white seeds I have, to see if I can recover the white seed that showed up in my original Ricter's packet of Hashuli (I'm counting on that seed actually just being a marking free Hashuli, and as such having pinkish mottling on it's cots. If it doesn't I don't know HOW I'll work out which of the 20 odd white seeds I have it became.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Germination has begun in the other two bean pots (round purple and white)

One bit of bad news is that it looks like this attempt to grow one of my two remaining seeds of the Ijevan #1 Runner bean has failed (just like they all did the first time) I haven't totally given up hope, but the fact that the seed filled up with moisture like a water balloon and has developed a very distinct fermented odor does not bode well. Ah well maybe I'll try and direct seed the last bean.

My peas also showed a bit of a low result, only about half of them germinated (which would normally be fine as it would leave me with a good 36 plants still, but last year 186 seeds went in and only nine plants made it through the animal gauntlet to maturity so assuming that ratio holds 36 plants will leave me only 2-3) One bright spot is the failure left me some room to play around with some peanuts I had lying around, and some of those seem to have taken.

Maybe I'll do some favas to fill in the gap.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

3/25/16

Mottled Greys- mixed news. The sprinkling of snow we had over the previous weekend hit them hard. they're technically still alive (well some of them are) but are hard hit, and it seems like whatever is wrong hasn't stopped with the snow (die in cool die in warm seriously is there ANY temperature range these beans like?) Losing a few was no great loss (I have a ton, and I'd need to thin them anyway) but it's like there's a withering running around the pot (I'd say pythium, but it's still too cold for that, and these plants are WAAY too old for it anyway.)

Round purples- Ten came up and those ten are doing fine (including taking the outside far better than the mottled greys are)

White- only one seed out of all of them actually even germinated (well germinated properly, there were a lot of dead end sprouts and clubbed off roots)
but that one seems OK

Peas- two or three still alive

Vetch- one of the few things doing unqualifiedly well though I have to squint a bit to see them (whatever kind of vetch I have this year from my box it's sprout foliage is bronzy red so it blends into the soil quite effectively.

Peanuts are sprouting well

 

[Pulsegleaner]

3/31/16

MG- Down to 23 (still plenty if they all make it, but I'm in the same area as NYboy, so I'm looking at a week of 20F nights too)
RP- about 6-7 left (wahtever is happening to the MG is happened but much, much slower)
White- Froze
Peas Down to one, but that one seems to be progressing (though since I think something came in and chewed it's cots off a week or so ago, I am wondering if it's going to have problems without the energy boost.
Vetch- progressing nicely

Added another ventil* to supplement the peas (different one than what was already going)

Started flat of unknown seeds that may or may not be artichokes of some sort, along with one seed of something from the Malvacae family (among the weedy things I play around with, members of that family have grown particularly well and have provided a lot of very nice flowers. and one seed that is either another bean or a cowpea (it's a little too warped to tell)

With the failure of all the grain pots, planted pot from the Tub of Random Grains (the place where I put any grain I find in my searches as well as anything that falls out of it's packaging I can't identify. So basically assorted wheats with smatterings of barley, emmer, einkorn and maybe a grain or two of one or more of the species wheats I planted originally.

Also sowed a smaller pot with some sort of nightshade family plant whose dried berries I found searching. Probably will turn out to be plain old S. americanum again, but I could get lucky (I keep hoping that one day one of those dried berries will turn out to be that red fruited edible form of S. Nigrum from India I've heard about.)

*ventil is a term I use for the stuff I plant from some seed I filtered out of some bags of lentils last year, where I can't really tell if what I am planting is going to turn out to be some sort of vetch or some sort of lentil. Technically the "vetch" is still a ventil too, and will be until it flowers (purple flowers say vetch automatically) or even pods (since there are yellow flowered vetches).

 

[Pulsegleaner]

4/1

Something came in and ate the last pea plant, so no peas this year and probably no Piselle d' ago ever again (used up all my seed, and can't get more)

Will check on beans again in a week or so, when the cold weather is over (they are currently covered to protect them from the snow.)

 

[Pulsegleaner]

4/7

And yet more bad news. I went out to check on the beans and it looks like my covering method didnt do much to help them withstand our unseasonable snow and freezing temperatures. I brought what had survived back in for the moment but we are down to one (compartively healthy looking) round bean and 2 (very sickly looking) mottled greys

4/8
Down to one MG