The 2014 Little Easy Bean Network - Get New Beans On The Cheap

[Blue-Jay]

Well Marshall darling. Your girls in the white and black spotted evening gowns are so chic. Just marvelous! One of the very lovely designs of the season. Keep up the good work.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

well, i'm loving those pretty ladies in the violet/purple dresses!

 

[ninnymary]

Oh Marshall, I love those black and white beans. Could you send me just 6? I don't need more than that. In one season I will easily multiply that amount.

Thanks
Mary

 

[Blue-Jay]

well, i'm loving those pretty ladies in the violet/purple dresses!

Would you like some of those pretty ladies in Violet. They are "Shortwave Sunshine" I think they would also make a pretty nice snap bean.

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

Well... looks like I like beauty pageants now.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Hey @marshallsmyth,

It's interesting that of all the Nippersink seeds I planted here on this end I didn't pick one seed that gave me that same white with black spots on it like you got. I'll plant more of the 2013 seed stock I have left of Nippersink next year to see if one pops out of the bunch. I would think there is likely more of those seeds to segregate that way. Perhaps even some of the seed I grew this year.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Well... looks like I like beauty pageants now.

You should be getting the Armenian Giant Black seed crop in the mail soon. I sent them about two days ago.

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

Great to here! I had to backtrack to find your last post concerning the Armenian Giant Blacks - they're beautiful and turned out great! Thank you for growing those out, they were in dire need of being refreshed.

Knowing know that the pods are huge and that they're a late variety, I'm thinking that the beans themselves are pretty big?

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

Would you like some of those pretty ladies in Violet. They are "Shortwave Sunshine" I think they would also make a pretty nice snap bean.

Shortwave Sunshine looks neat too! the only problem is i have some Scarlet Beauty (not many since they didn't fare well for me) and i wouldn't want to get those mixed up if i grew them in the same year. are they pole or bush types?

i was actually talking about the Junin in Marshall's pic at the end. they looked purple to me but i realized he said they were blue!

I need to send back the beans i got from 2013 but realized i don't have your address stored in my emails. could you PM that to me again? I wanted to be sure you are OK with me sending back the Milk & Cider, Black Nightfall and Candy. i thought Candy was one you had a decent supply on hand but want to be sure before i seal up the envelope.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Time once again for Russ Crow's 2014 Bean Fashion Show. Todays entries will be the Fantasy girls and my little Pawnee tribe.

Last year I discovered this little bean on the left growing among a bean called Corbett Refugee. It's very dark gray almost black. Smaller than a navy bean. The pattern almost reminds me of the pattern you see on Scarlett Runner. I started calling the bean "Fantasy". I sent the bean to Marshall and it will be interesting to see what he got out of this one. The bean this year produced three segregations. The one on the right is sort of blueish, and I've been calling it "Fantasy Blue".

The second segregation (the one on the left) is the same pattern as the first two above. This one I've been calling "Fantasy Rose". The one on the right looks like a miniature Pinto bean. Been calling this one "Fantasy Pinto".

The bean on the left is one of my early outcrosses discovered in my garden in 1979 I named "Pawnee". It's somewhat of a commerical variety being sold by quite a few little seed companies these days. If you Google Pawnee shell bean you will find all sorts of links to sellers of this bean. One website says the Mexico is believed to be the origin of Pawnee. I really gives me a laugh when people don't know something and just make it up. I first listed this bean in the Seed Savers Exchange Yearbook for the first time in 1982. When I discovered Pawnee it was nearly all brown. Over a number of years of growing and selecting it for more white on it's seed it eventually took on the appearance it has today. A very pretty bean that looks like a brown and white Jacob's Cattle. I've been wishing for a Jacob's Cattle looking bean in true jet black and white. Beans like Black Trout are not truely black but actually dark purple. This summer I planted 40 Pawnee seeds from the 2013 seed crop and discovered this one larger plant growing among the "Pawnee" planting that produced the beautiful jet black and white seed on the right. Same pattern, shape and size as "Pawnee". The plant was also loaded with pods. A characteristic that "Pawnee" shares. Haven't been able to figure out a good name for this new bean yet. Perhaps maybe "Black Magic". Will see, time will tell perhaps.

I think todays larger photos shows up the seed detail much better.