2022 Little Easy Bean Network - We Are Beans Without Borders

[heirloomgal]

Sylvano's still hanging in there...

Maximizing sun exposure today, worked SO well. Lots of dried pods at end of the day.

Runner bean pods seem okay despite frost hitting the leaves

 

[Zeedman]

In this case looks are deceiving, the Wild Gonny's have shells as hard as walnuts. And even though the Kartoffelbohnes have those necklace pods, they aren't stiff. But I have run into the stiff necklace pods, and they are not fun for sure in quantity. My Lippoldsberger pods were more like that.

Something not often mentioned is how the type & amount of fiber in the pods affects shelling. The presence of strings - which are problematic for snap beans - tends to make make dry pods easier to shell. Likewise pods which develop fibrous pod walls.

Some beans - especially those often cooked in the pod as "full beans" - remain mostly fiber-free even when the beans have matured. Some of those have the shrink-down trait; and if stringless, can be VERY hard to shell, because the pods break into pieces rather than unzip. I grow several of that type (including the pole wax Zlatak this year) and find that there is usually a "sweet spot" before the pods have completely dried, where the pods are easier to open.

 

[flowerbug]

i managed to pick a box of venda, lavender with a few adzuki and lemon slice mixed in there too. looks like almost all of the beans are finishing up except for those planted last and the ones that are longer season beans.

 

[Zeedman]

"Uzice" has already produced plenty of dry seed, so I harvested most of the remaining pods today for shellies. Somewhat easy to shell; although the pods have a weak back string which can be pulled, they unzip more easily from the belly. Uzice has a trait I've observed in only a few other beans; it forms either good beans, or empty cells, with almost nothing in between. Partially developed or malformed beans are virtually non-existent. "Tarbais" (and the very similar "Tetovac") are other beans I've observed with that trait.

"Uzice" in shelly stage

"Blue Marbutt" (pole snap) has a very late DTM, but when ripening starts, pods dry down quickly in large numbers. Probably best suited to a growing season a little longer than mine; but while it is a race against the frost to get dry seed, the beans usually win.

"Blue Marbutt"

As expected, having been planted late, "Bird Egg #3" is going right up against the frost for dry seed. Many pods in shelly stage, but the change from red striped to purple (which signals drying) has been slow, and is only now beginning. I gave them a pep talk today... but they don't seem to understand what a calendar means. They are part of the "bean tunnel", and I may tarp & heat them when another frost (and possible freeze) arrives next week.

"Bird Egg #3"

Most of the remaining soybeans are drying down, and I will cut the plants next week just before frost & bring them onto my patio to dry. The latest soybean ("Seneca") while a grain variety, is in edamame stage right now & I will harvest a few for that purpose... small but fat beans. That too may require a tarp next week to make it, with a couple incandescent bulbs under as a heat source.

"Seneca" soybean


Honestly, given how late I planted this year, the garden has far exceeded my expectations.

 

[Decoy1]

Has anyone come across the pole bean 'Astrid'?

I was given this in a swap by a donor who labelled it as coming from Austria. So far he can't remember any more about its origin.
It's prolific and produces full pods and delightful red shiny round beans. I'm impressed with it and would love to find out more about it.

 

[Zeedman]

Has anyone come across the pole bean 'Astrid'?

View attachment 52368View attachment 52369

I was given this in a swap by a donor who labelled it as coming from Austria. So far he can't remember any more about its origin.
It's prolific and produces full pods and delightful red shiny round beans. I'm impressed with it and would love to find out more about it.

As I scrolled down, I thought those were peas! Haven't grown that variety, but it looks very similar to "True Red Cranberry". Those are fat pods, and really beautiful beans.

 

[meadow]

Has anyone come across the pole bean 'Astrid'?

View attachment 52368View attachment 52369

I was given this in a swap by a donor who labelled it as coming from Austria. So far he can't remember any more about its origin.
It's prolific and produces full pods and delightful red shiny round beans. I'm impressed with it and would love to find out more about it.

What a pretty bean! It looks rather similar to Steirische Kirschbohne (Styrian Cherry Bean).

Searching on "Astrid" wasn't very helpful as far as bean varieties go, unfortunately. Please let us know if you learn more about this bean!

 

[Blue-Jay]

Network bean Greek Cypriot, 3 plants, pole variety. As you can see @Bluejay77 there are two browns in here. I don't know, but it seems like they are twins, pods were exactly the same, maturity the same. You can let me know if you want both or just one of the colours.

I am guessing that I sent you one of the shades of brown or tan. Is that correct? I think I did a grow out of this bean back in 2015 and got the two shades you are showing. I wonder if this bean is like my Kishwaukee Yellow bean where I select one seed coat for planting but always get the others. I will take some of both shades.

 

[flowerbug]

Wise approach jb, especially when you grow dried beans in bulk as you do. I still remember how easy all my black seeds were to shell last year - Hopi, Mitla, Nicaraguan - like shelling from tissue paper.

In this case looks are deceiving, the Wild Gonny's have shells as hard as walnuts. And even though the Kartoffelbohnes have those necklace pods, they aren't stiff. But I have run into the stiff necklace pods, and they are not fun for sure in quantity. My Lippoldsberger pods were more like that.

try Venda sometime. that one (and I think it was Improved Golden Wax) have been pretty tough to shell once they are dried. guess what I picked the other day? about half a box of completely dried Venda pods. going to save those for mid-winter exercise. there's some others through the years that have been magnificently difficult to shell once dried. i tend to not grow many of them again as i don't want those genes spreading into my other plantings... instead Purple Dove are the main plantings i'm doing because i do want those genes to spread and give me some things to work with that are more along the lines of paper thin pods and easy to shell along with all the other positive traits.

in other bean news from the gardens here i'm still waiting for one of the other Robert Lobitz beans to finish up in my comparison grow outs, but with chances of frost tonight and perhaps tomorrow night too (not sure yet these are just false chances or going to happen) i may not get a harvest from them that is much of anything. they've gone long season and the pods are there but i don't think i've seen any seeds in them that are fully formed or even well formed. the other three beans i planted in that same garden have been harvested and did mostly ok in comparison.

the list of RL beans grown this season were:

Atwater
Blooming Prairie
Chaska Purple
Delano
Koronis Three Islands
Purple Rose Creek
Viola

Chaska Purple is for sure a longer season bean than Blooming Prairie, Delano, Purple Rose Creek, Purple Dove, Koronis or Viola. Atwater i'm not sure about yet but i think that's also a longer season bean.

it doesn't look like i'll have much of a lima bean harvest either (the pods don't have much in them yet of developed beans even as shellies) just got planted too late and the weather wasn't what they wanted along with being nibbled on by deer. the pods may fill if we get another few weeks of nice weather but i think the frosts will shut them down sooner. ah well, plenty of other beans... diversity in planting always helps me out in the end...

 

[heirloomgal]

I am guessing that I sent you one of the shades of brown or tan. Is that correct? I think I did a grow out of this bean back in 2015 and got the two shades you are showing. I wonder if this bean is like my Kishwaukee Yellow bean where I select one seed coat for planting but always get the others. I will take some of both shades.

Yes, I believe the seeds I planted from the packet were all the lighter brown shade, but gave birth to these 2 colours. They are so similar in every other way; you can't tell the pods apart even when dried they're so identical. I think you are probably right that planting either seedcoat colour will probably result in both colours again. I'll send 30 of each colour then. The production was great too.