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

[Pulsegleaner]

UPDATE

This evening my dad pointed out to me that the pods on one of the remaining plants were dried out. Going out I found that one devoid of leaves too (it probably was before, but as this one was a pole, it was a little harder to tell which leaves went to which plant)

Apart from being pole, these plants are much the same as the bush ones; with the same white flowers and green to yellow pods (though I don't think they have the blush). However as I guessed based on what went in, the seeds of this one are bright red. In other words, the others are seed group #3 or #4 in the picture (probably #4 since all four seem to have seeds that are the same size, and there were only 3 #3's to begin with); this is a #1.

I will put a picture of the seed up, but it will probably not be until Wed afternoon (for some reason the signal in my house is terrible, so even if I send a picture, I can't receive it until I am well away from the home and under another tower, and I'm stuck at home all day tomorrow.)

So that leaves two plants in that pot. I ASSUME they are both red as well (since they are pole), but won't know until I actually harvest a pod off one.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Photo of red beans, as promised

 

[Pulsegleaner]

And the last two from the pot (dried up over the weekend)

As you can see (to my astonishment) these two are BROWN again, despite being pole. So I guess there really ARE three kinds of beans here, a brown bush, a brown pole and a red pole.

For a little while I wondered if these were just a lot more immature than the red pole and hadn't colored up. However I remember that with the one that WAS red even the tiny newly formed seeds were pretty pink, so this red colors up very early .

I guess I'm going to have to be REALLY careful storing the seed since there is no way I can see to tell this seed from the bush visually (I'm still debating if I keep the seed from each plant discrete or meld the four bushes with each other and two brown poles likewise, on the grounds they seem identical.)

That is if the bush actually ARE bush, as opposed to under-performing poles (they really didn't climb, but they didn't really split either, they were more "make a little stem, flower, pod, drop dead".)

It's probably going to be a long while before I have another bean photo to post. The only plant of the grow out left now is the mottled cot one in the other pot, and the one pod that has is still a long way from being mature (if indeed it doesn't abort). Nor do I have any idea if that will be the end of it (unlike these it's still pretty healthy, so could keep going for quite a while. And if it IS part of the Mottled Grey/ Fort Portal Violet complex, it might not really come into it's own in flowering or podding until October or November, which given the cockamamie weather we're having might still be warm enough this year to let such beans ripen. And if it isn't it IS in a pot, so I can bring it inside to finish up (if I can keep it from tying itself to the railing!)

In the meantime I'll try and post when the cowpeas and rice beans are ready (if there are any, I'm still waiting on even flower buds)

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Sorry completely forgot my promise to update as cow peas came in!

As of this point, I have harvested four mature pods (one a very impressive eleven inches long). Three have contained off white to pale buff seeds at about pinto bean size, and one (from a tiny plant that conked out after podding) has produced five tiny (mung to lentil sized) red ones.

There are at least four more pods still out there, with two open flowers on top of that, and it is still early in the season, so I assume this will probably be a pretty good year for me with cow peas.

I'm particularity excited for the next two, since they are on the OTHER side of the patch from the ones that have been harvested so far, so they are of a different type (my planting of cow peas is a bit haphazard, but since I start with a handful and then move on, plants near each other tend to be alike with regards to seed color). If I recall correctly that means those are probably either Avakli or my famous mottled eye cowpeas, both of which would be important (Avakli, since it would mean that they actually can produce here, and that would mean all that money I spent on the not cheap original seed in the hope it's stated short seed to seed period (May-June sowing= August harvest) would not have been wasted. Mottled eye, because I sunk all of my seed supply into the ground this year, so being able to grow it from now on REQUIRES I get some seed back.)

 

[Pulsegleaner]

First pod from the other side, and it's a mottled eye! (Phew!)

To temper the excitement, the plant the pod came from had to be removed, since it had gone totally yellow. In fact, SEVERAL of the smaller plants on that side are yellowing out fast. I don't think it's disease related, as plants right next to them are green and thriving/ Maybe mottled eye just can't handle the super heat we've been having.

Still waiting on a pod of Avakli. It's success is probably the most important, as my plans change for next year depending on if I get poor results (don't grow again), moderate (grow what I still have) or exceptional (get more starter seed from the original source, to keep the pool wide.)

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Next two pods in, and they are both mottled all over, which Avakli is.

The only complication is that Avakli isn't the only mottled skinned cowpea I planted, at least I don't think it is. So those two might both be Avakli, or one is, or neither is. I doubt either is the all over mottled version of the mottled eye (the seed is too big) but there still remains any mottled seed that came from the Indian bulk stuff, or possibly the Chinese (I honestly don't remember if the cowpeas I got out of the Chinese stuff had any mottled ones or not. Speckled sure, but I can't remember about mottled.)

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Last common bean in. they weren't quite ripe, but as the plant is basically dead, the pods withering and one of them getting nibbled on, I thought it best to take what I could when I could.

Looks like the one that made it was the purple/black one. Damn (I've got nothing against those, but I would have been happier if it had been the tan one with the streaks, as that was more visually distinctive. Seed's pretty small (which I blame on the bad condition of the plant)

On the other hand, the cow pea vines are literally POURING out beans; I'm collecting a fresh ripe pod every few days by now.

I also found a small additional supply of Owls eye (looks like the Korean grocery store got another lost box of the old bean mix) so my supply of that is secure once again.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

10/23

Been a long time since I posted

LOTS of cow peas collected by now. Mostly buff, tans, but a few mottled and at least one more Owl's Eye.

By now, the rice beans have also begun to become harvest-able. As they are nearly all coming from the discard patch, they are nearly all the normal dull flat red. but beans are beans.

Actually that is why I am posting, the pods on the one rice bean in the STUMP (i.e. one I actually planted) have been collected, and they were a suprise. I though that plant was one of the first planting, and so it's seeds would be red or cream with mottling (as they had been in previous years). But it turned out to be from the second planting (the one I did one by one) and so for the first time, I have rice bean seed I have grown that is PINTO (okay not pinto a pinto variant but that is just as rare). It isn't much but at least it gives me some data (namely that that pattern is a legitimate seed coat variation, as opposed to some sort of byproduct of immaturity or damage.)

 

[journey11]

Pics, @Pulsegleaner , we need pics!

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I can TRY, but both the cowpeas and rice beans are much smaller seeds than the common beans were; it may be hard to get them in focus.