2023 Little Easy Bean Network - Beans Beyond The Colors Of A Rainbow

[Blue-Jay]

@Bluejay77 Does the peach colouring on Turkey #1 start out light and darken over time?

Yes it does. I have some Robert Lobitz beans that have that sort of color on them and they do darken over time.

 

[heirloomgal]

Felt like taking pics today, after being out this evening gathering pods. There was some drizzling last night. Not major rain, but enough that I pulled out a bunch of poles and tucked them in the carport. Never can be too careful.

Some of the 'white based' beans for this year.

Ocio Della Madonna
I love to seek out beans with holy references in the names - angels, madonnas, churches, etc. Italian beans are a great source of such named beans.

Angel Eye
This has been one of the best bush beans for 2023. Such a great variety; totally resistant to moisture, extremely productive and nice big beans. Love it. Will post a better picture in more natural lighting soon.

Turkey #1
Incredible production, nice high quality large seeds. Curious to see how these will darken over time. Far exceeded my expectations for volume!

Couple others.

Goldener Regan.
These pods don’t appreciate moisture, as they are somewhat thin so I’m trying to keep them picked. Big beans, nice bold colors.

Grand Mere
Huge production of pods, tiny seeds. Rather unique color, a bit more rosey pink than the pictures shows. My initial seeds were of very poor quality so it’s nice to see that this variety can do better. This one is a bit of an odd duck. Was not super easy to shell even though the pods were thin, they tended to break into pieces.

 

[flowerbug]

@Zeedman i've been through that myself at times and without good fences i know i may not get a decent crop in some places.

i'm very thankful that the wild turkeys in this area remain distant and that i do have some fencing up. the distance might be related to having a turkey hunting season... i don't hunt them myself but others around here do.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Angel Eye
This has been one of the best bush beans for 2023. Such a great variety; totally resistant to moisture, extremely productive and nice big beans. Love it. Will post a better picture in more natural lighting soon.

This bean is an example of one that became stable on the first grow out. I too have been so incredibly happy about Angel Eye.

When is your website going up on the internet. I want to buy some of your beans that I don't have. You have posted some beauties.

 

[flowerbug]

i will finally be able to get outside today and do some scanning of the bean gardens to see if anything can be picked. it's been rather wet enough here that i'm not sure about anything at this point.

another inch of rain and four bouts of rain yesterday and the evening before didn't help at all i'm sure. :/

 

[heirloomgal]

This bean is an example of one that became stable on the first grow out. I too have been so incredibly happy about Angel Eye.

When is your website going up on the internet. I want to buy some of your beans that I don't have. You have posted some beauties.

I spoke with my web guy this weekend and he tells me that it's all done, including the order form which is part of what was holding things up. God bless him, I told him we should just keep it a simple ordeal and not get too fancy with stuff, but complicated is just his way of doing things. I'm probably going to keep things seasonal just like you, opening up for only a period of time early in the year. I'll still keep the site up for browsing the rest of the time. I think I'll start with a January to April window and see how it goes.

Of course, for you @Bluejay77 I'd be happy to send beans anytime!

 

[flowerbug]

it was too wet out there still for me to pick so we'll see what things look like tomorrow afternoon.

 

[heirloomgal]

Looking forward to some warm sunny skies tomorrow after a few days of cold & gray. Started the nightly bean shelling rounds the last few evenings, which I enjoy. One thing I've definitely concluded this year is all my direct seeded pole beans grew noticeably thinner plants than the transplanted ones that I started 3 weeks earlier in pots. It's remarkable how much less dense the direct seeded vines are. This also means that the production of the direct seeded beans was less as well, though I can't complain that any were poor producers. Conversely, the super thick transplanted vines were more prone to mould spots on the vines because of all that vegetative density whereas the more sparse vines not as much with the increase air flow.

This is the time of year where I'm tempted to cut all the vines at ground level, which I've done to most of them, but there are a few that I think would still benefit from a bit more time. No danger of frost for a while yet, so I'm gonna leave the later ones be. Almost all of these later vines are direct seeded as well.

 

[Artorius]

Hey @Artorius! How is your bean season going this year?

I am LOVING all the great beans I received from you!

@heirloomgal
I consider the season to be a success, especially the bush beans, they gave me a lot of beautiful seeds.
Unfortunately, not all climbing beans wanted to cooperate with me. Some of them grew very nicely, and suddenly the tops of the shoots curled into springs, and then the entire plants withered. This way I lost all Pink Tip Greasy, Frost and Melungeon. After heavy chemical artillery was applied, only one or two plants of three other varieties survived. Nyautenibe Nchenachena and Caramel Delight stopped growing and stunted for some reason. However, these sad incidents cannot overshadow the whole picture. They just happen.

I have already collected a lot of seeds and I will collect even more because according to the forecast, the first frosts will be in mid-October. I believe it will be so.

 

[flowerbug]

However, these sad incidents cannot overshadow the whole picture. They just happen.

true. sad though to not have some seeds from certain plants.

do you think it was heat stress/drought that got them or disease?

it is getting cool here now at night so the season will be coming to an end for any warmer weather crops. some of the later beans might try to put on more pods now but they may not have enough time to finish.

the next few days are dry enough that i should be able to pick something after the dew dries off.