2021 Little Easy Bean Network - Bean Lovers Come Discover Something New !

[heirloomgal]

@flowerbug You are south of me, and if you didn't find them a reliable producer, I'm surprised a seed grower here in Canada has found one that can make it here reliably to the dried bean stage. Do you think there is enough differences in varieties to have really different DTM's?

So there is some truth to the stringing of greasy beans! Huh. I was curious about that. So you didn't find them 'the best ever' bean then; did you find there was any notable texture or flavour difference between regular snap beans cooked vs. the greasy beans? Could you (or, did you maybe?) 'de-string' them in the way one can with snow peas, that easily?

 

[flowerbug]

@flowerbug You are south of me, and if you didn't find them a reliable producer, I'm surprised a seed grower here in Canada has found one that can make it here reliably to the dried bean stage. Do you think there is enough differences in varieties to have really different DTM's?

certainly! there are a large number of varieties of greasy beans out there, someone probably has one that is a shorter DTM, or perhaps someone else did the cross breeding and got it done for those who want to continue. myself, no need to hunt for yet more projects. i got a pile already.

So there is some truth to the stringing of greasy beans! Huh. I was curious about that. So you didn't find them 'the best ever' bean then; did you find there was any notable texture or flavour difference between regular snap beans cooked vs. the greasy beans? Could you (or, did you maybe?) 'de-string' them in the way one can with snow peas, that easily?

i grew them around 4-5 seasons (if my memory is working corectly) and two seasons were ok and the rest were more of a waste (i was primarily after dry bean production). not my favorite flavor in a dry bean at all, the off-note flavor of the bean was fishy to me. Mom liked them (normally she is the one who finds some things not tasting right or good and not me). texture was fine for the dry beans after being cooked up.

i don't recall the green snaps so they must have been fairly normal to undistinguished. if they were notably good i'd have taken them on as a project to cross with other earlier beans and kept growing them. there is some chance that they did cross and the genes are floating around in my bean collection, but since i don't grow pole beans and white beans much i can't say i've noticed anything happening along those lines. i do have some other white beans i am working with, but they are not greasy types.

don't take these comments as a slam on greasy beans, i'm sure there are plenty out there that work for people, i'm just picky and don't have much pole bean space here to really give some more a try and i'm not much into white beans.

 

[897tgigvib]

Daylight sensitive varieties...

Now think about it awhile. These are varieties that retain their older adaption to growing in the tropics. That means between those latitude lines called the tropic of cancer and the tropic of capricorn. That is, the equatorial regions.

It's generally warm to hot there year round. Around here we're most likely to plant our beans around springtime. So the lil plants are growing while the nights are getting shorter night to night. They are likely to be flowering sometime not long from the longest day, shortest night of the year. The beans we usually grow here in the temperate regions are adapted for it.

But some varieties are not adapted to our temperate zones. See, down in the equator regions, depending on altitude, Beans can be planted on the longest day of the year, and the lil plants grow as the day shortens day by day, or vicey vircey. So if they'd been growing that way for 5 million years on the western slopes of the Andes, their descendents might still want to grow with those conditions.

I grew Tarahumara Purple Star several years ago. Beautiful beans. I can see why The Grand Canyon natives grew them deep in the vallies. A perfect item of trade few others could grow. I got fewer and fewer each year up at Pillsbury. Here in Santa Rosa I could probably coax them to crop.

 

[Artorius]

I'd like to grow Cornplanter Purple too sometime, is it only for dry use or can you use the fresh pods also?

@heirloomgal
I have not eaten this bean yet. I was growing it for the first time and it was my intention to make a safe supply of seeds. I read that you can use this bean in both ways.

 

[Blue-Jay]

HI @VegBaby,

Welcome to our bean family. So glad you found us. You will have a lot of fun here. Lots of enjoyment to be had all season long. We have our Decoy Farm from Lincolnshire in our group too. Nice to have another UK gardener and bean lover.

 

[heirloomgal]

@marshallsmyth When I grew that Tarahumara Purple Star bean in 2016, I think it was, it was just like all the other pole beans I grew. It was possibly a little more productive, and dried down more quickly than the others which were more commonly grown pole beans. So, it's likely not a 'day length sensitive' variety I'm thinking...

 

[897tgigvib]

@marshallsmyth When I grew that Tarahumara Purple Star bean in 2016, I think it was, it was just like all the other pole beans I grew. It was possibly a little more productive, and dried down more quickly than the others which were more commonly grown pole beans. So, it's likely not a 'day length sensitive' variety I'm thinking...

Pretty sure tarahumara purple star is in process of adapting to temperate latitudes. there will be some accessions more adapted, others less adapted. I was one or 2 plant selecting, and they would behave as long season producers. Got my original seed from native seed search early 2008

 

[heirloomgal]

Strange news today.
Found out I'm actually a bean.
Well, I guess it's better than being a nut. 🙃

 

[baymule]

That's adorable. You are a Mom Bean!

 

[Blue-Jay]

Got an email yesterday from a lady Maryland who wants to be a part of the Network grow out this summer. She also has a purple podded bean with black seeds and very long pods that she is going to send to me. She says 9 plants can feed a whole family all summer and then some. She grows asparagus beans although not exclusively, so I had a feeling that the seeds she wants to send me could be that species. I don't know for sure though. I asked her for a photo of the seeds, which she sent. I'm posting the photo of the seeds here so anyone that is more famililar with other species of beans other than the ones I deal with all the time can take a look at these seeds. Tell me what species of bean she is sending to me.