The Little Easy Bean Network - Get New Beans Varieties Nearly Free

[Blue-Jay]

Hi Marshall !

Yep like I have been told by others more knowledgeable than me about outcrossing in beans. It takes two seasons for you to notice in the seed that an outcross has occured.
When the outcross occurs you don't know that it's happened. You plant that outcrossed seed the next growing season that's the F1 plant which makes the F2 seed. Then the second year you plant the F2 seed and the F2 plant grows and when it produces the F3 seed Wow ! you notice a new color combination. It took two years for that to happen for you to notice the new seed.

I've noticed some bean crosses can create a lot of segreations and some not so many. Then sometimes the segreations create more segregations.

Right now I'm going to go back and look at the links you posted.

 

[897tgigvib]

I sure hope all the big storms are missing your area Russ.

Stay safe!

 

[Blue-Jay]

Hi Marshall !


No big storms here. We have had the most beautiful drying weather this September with below normal rainfall. My beans are just coming out incredibly beautiful. Very few spoiled seeds. This week is going to be another sunny and dry week.

How is everything going for you lately?

 

[897tgigvib]

About half my bean varieties are done. Some of the Nova Stars are hitting a second stride.

Gophers found their way in. Mostly too late for them to do much damage. Check out my topic about getting a Kingsnake next year to gobble Gophers!

My Flor de Mayos are doing a good crop with just 2 plants. I planted the selection among them that are the best tasting raw shelly bean I ever tasted.

The Badda di Polizzi Blanda's 3 selections are doing alright. Gophers messed up the selection with the small dark eye, but I got some from them before, so I got a small increase there. That selection makes nice fleshy pods that smell sweet but I suspect may not be overly tender.

All mingled up so hard to tell, but I think one or two plants of the Rio Zappe patch I planted with the black seeds of them are making black seeds a second generation, and their pods are surprisingly not as purple.

I finished and pulled all the Paiute Tepary Beans. Good crops there. Gophers did not even notice them. Tepary Beans have important potential as an emergency food crop.

The Chickasaw main patch got hit by the gopher, but I'm still at least doubling or more the increase.

I think I have at least 2 unusuals or outcrosses among the beans from you, and I'm super glad of it!

The Powder Star vines have mingled up high with the Badda di Polizzi Long Seed strain, so when I pick either of those they have to go in a plate marked Either/or, and I'll have to wait a few months to make sure I sort them right. The Baddas have the slow to color up gene I guess it is, and some of the Powder Stars are white. That was an oops planting them near each other, but they'll get sorted right. I actually probably could now, but later after the Baddas color up will be more certain.

The Sierra Stars, that very late to mature group of varieties i started inside are just now hitting a slow stride of setting pods. I've gotten a few early samples so far from their early flowers. Scary slow to flower! Blue/gold and friends...

I got some micros to work into the soil this winter.

=====

It has gotten quiet here at the lake.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Hi Marshall !

The seed harvest and shelling to find what you have in the new seed is always a fun time of the year.

I don't have gopher problems here. The deer sampled some of the young plants back in June but didn't continue doing any major damage. It seems when the beans reach a certain maturity. The deer start leaving the beans alone. Perhaps the taste changes as the plants get older. Maybe not as tender either. I have a few field mice that like to nibble on the dry beans. They eat their way into a pod and eat about half a bean. When I plant in the spring I always say to myself. "4 for me one for the mouse''.

Would love to see some pictures of your new seedcoats from outcrosses you are finding. Put some pictures up here. I have found over 20 new seedcoats on beans that I didn't plant. That is probably the most I've ever found in a single season. After I get all the shelling done I'm going to put all of the bean with new seedcoats on the Photo Album page on the website. That will probably be in November.

Been hand shelling beans alot for the last 4 days.

I'll have a ton of descriptions for beans to write up for the SSE yeabook for beans that I'm going to list.

Today I picked through the bush beans for the last time. They are finally all picked out. The phaseolus Vulgaris pole beans are all harvested. I have the Pole Limas nearly 50% dried and harvested. If we can continue to get sunny weather without any frost I think I'd have just about all the Lima pods picked in about two more weeks.

I have noticed your Nova Star is blooming again. Also some of the bush beans and semi-runners are growing some new leaves and doing a bit of blooming again, but in the long run it will be in vain for them.

It's been a very fine year.

 

[897tgigvib]

Howdy Russ and all. My internet service will be off for a few days so I'll only be on limited until the satellite dish is working again, maybe by thursday,

I will photo those outcrosses. I was doing some sorting with them and got 2 basic types, both deeply colored. 1 is bluish black with a platinum coloration, the other is black with deep brown coloration. Among that one, half are good sized beans and half are smaller beans. Not sure if that is genetic, but they did behave like f2's so I think it is. Both the basic 2 types each produced some that have much more black.

 

[ksacres]

What a great idea! I can't wait to try a few varieties next year!

 

[Blue-Jay]

Welcome Ksacres !

I think you will find The Little Easy Bean Network world of beans fun and interesting. The people that have taken part in this network are humorous, intelligent, and just down right good folks. I too am looking forward to the 2014 growing season. Wishing you many years of enjoyment and pleasure here.

Blue Jay (Russ Crow)

 

[bj taylor]

so, I've never grown beans & I have beans that have produced a lot in the last two months. I had been complaining that I would have none. soooo, now, my question is - how long does it take them to dry on the vine? they seem to be staying green for a very long time (I've come to the conclusion that i'm a very impatient gardener). I was hoping they would dry before frost (I think I've still got a little time). I will just hang them in the barn if a frost is imminent, but it would be nice if they would just hurry up & dry.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Hi BJ !

I'm supposing the pods are fat and filled with seeds. You can probably see little lumpy spots on the pods. They need to dry pretty good. They should turn fairly light tan when fully dry. They might have a hint of green in them too when limas dry. It's hard to give you a time frame on how much longer it's going to be for your bean pods to dry. They could suddenly turn in days, but even then they need to dry even more. Too much moisture in the pods if picked and piling them on top of one another could make them mold and ruin the seed. I would let the pods stay on the plants as long as you can. When a frost is imminent then pull the plants up and continue to dry them undercover, in a garage or barn whatever you have. Your plants right now might be dropping yellowed and brown dry leaves. Once you pull up your plants with the pods on them they could stand to be dried for another two or three weeks before you shell all the pods. The seeds then should be so hard you can't dent their seed coat with your fingernail.

Take a picture of your lima plants and put it up here.