2016 Little Easy Bean Network - Gardeners Keeping Heirloom Beans From Extinction

[Blue-Jay]

Hi @Tricia77,

I wouldn't soak those beans. It really tends to kill them. That is my understanding of soaking beans. I would put them between moist paper towels and fold the moist towel over the seeds and insert that into a ziploc bag and leave the open end unfastened. In the germination process the seeds needs a small amount of air. Soaking the seeds cuts off all the air supply.

I think this outcross comes from a pole bean called Chester.

 

[Blue-Jay]

I don't know if anyone noticed but I put the "Network" link on all the pages of my website. So all you have to do now is go to my website and to any of the pages to find the link.

Since I've done that. We have gotten our first response of a new grower that is going to try a couple of these beans.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Hi @baymule,

I wouldn't put it past any Crow to eat anything. You can ask my family about that and you will get an affirmative. They probably would love tender bean sprouts just as much and young corn sprouts. Can you grow them beans under chicken wire until they get big enough to not need protection? I've noticed around here that rabbits will nible on young bean plants and once the plants get to be certain age the rabbits leave the beans alone.

 

[aftermidnight]

Will crows eat bean sprouts? They just wiped out my corn and I am mad. I planted my long green beans and my regular butterbeans, so I guess I'll find out. I would be devastated if they ate the beans you sent me, Russ. I haven't planted them yet, waiting on the beans I just planted to come up and tell me they are doing ok.

My problem is slugs and snails and as I only grow in small amounts I cut the bottoms off liter size plastic pop bottles, remove the cap and push these in the ground over the emerging bean seedlings, I also use hot caps if there is enough space between the beans, these are left on until the beans are good and sturdy, of course this doesn't work for large amounts.

I've even put those black trays from the garden centers with the latticed bottoms over seed just planted or held over taller stuff or by using bamboo stakes pushed through to hold them off the ground, keeps the neighborhood cats from scratching in my raised beds, I don't discourage the cats from coming in our yard, they're keeping the rat population in check.

I've also used something similar to cattle panel wire cut in sections and bent in a U for cover rows, these can also be covered with plastic or Remay if needed.

@Bluejay77 , had another look at #45 today (day 5), haven't sprouted yet but they are still swelling, still smell fresh, no sign of mold. I washed the clear plastic lidded container they are in, gave them a fresh piece of dampened towel and put them back on the heat mat. Instead of ziplocks I use little cat food containers to germinate beans, usually pop the lids once a day to inspect and add fresh air. This is what I did with some 15 year old seed with good results.

Planted my first beans (Barksdale) out in the garden today, under pop bottles for the time being to keep the little %$#$% off them.

Annette

 

[Pulsegleaner]

In my experience there is little if anything plantable that a critter won't chow down on. They're already making attacks on the cowpeas I stuck in two or three days ago, and since we have had no rain, that means they are rapacious enough to be willing to dig down to munch dry seed.

I see sort of the same thing, critters stop going after the bean plants after the cots are exhausted. Or why the ones that get grown inside get an edge; by the time they go out they are generally nearly finished with their cots. The exception is often deer, who will treat the plants like browse and attack them when they are older too (I have had bean vines disappear overnight because a deer came in and slurped them up like spaghetti.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Hi @aftermidnight,

How warm does your heat mat make things? My furnace was set at 71 degrees with no heat mat under the seed. They were in ziploc bags and just sitting on the kitchen counter.

If none of those seeds germinate try another batch I guess ! I hope I didn't test the only ones that would grow.

 

[aftermidnight]

Hi @aftermidnight,

How warm does your heat mat make things? My furnace was set at 71 degrees with no heat mat under the seed. They were in ziploc bags and just sitting on the kitchen counter.

If none of those seeds germinate try another batch I guess ! I hope I didn't test the only ones that would grow.

I think my heat mat is around 70º they're in the greenhouse, it gets up in the 80's in the greenhouse during the day with the door open but goes down to the high 40's at night, door shut. I'm not giving up the ship on them, they still look healthy. Candy took 12 days to break their seed coats, but when they did I put them in pots and today (3 days later) their cotyledons are pushing through.

Annette

 

[baymule]

Hi @baymule,

I wouldn't put it past any Crow to eat anything. You can ask my family about that and you will get an affirmative. They probably would love tender bean sprouts just as much and young corn sprouts. Can you grow them beans under chicken wire until they get big enough to not need protection? I've noticed around here that rabbits will nible on young bean plants and once the plants get to be certain age the rabbits leave the beans alone.

I will make bean cages to keep the crows off. I am going around my garden with chicken wire over laid on the horse wire, and laying one foot of chicken wire on the ground.

 

[aftermidnight]

@Bluejay77 , I feel like an expectant grandmother waiting for her first grandchild to arrive, last night around 8 nothing, this morning...

WB PKT #45 Chase River-1
I'm hoping for a few more, picture taken with a flash shows a variety of seed coat colors, now that the seeds have swelled. This is a picture of half the seed you sent, if not many germinate I'll put some more on.
Just waiting for my battery to recharge and I'll take a picture of this one before I pot it up so we can compare it to what it produces, I'll do the same with any of the others that germinate. My anal project for this year.

Annette

 

[teamneu]

Hello,
I'd like to try Madagascar, Fisole Rassacher Kipfleer & Greasy Grits. If you trust me after last year's problems (I can't remember which one was a failure), I can try #23. If not, that's okay, too.
Thanks!!