2025 Little Easy Bean Network - Growers Of The Future Will Be Glad We Saved

[Blue-Jay]

@Blue-Jay, can you write more about the Skunk River Trout bean that @oxbow farm showed?

This comes out of Robert Lobitz material that I obtained from Ron Thuma of Hartford, Kansas in 2015. It had Robert's code number of #30B 97D-00M-03A. According to Robert Lobitz it is a Contender x Trout cross. I think that Robert had never worked with this coded bean other than probably being collected material from his bean gardens and given this number. Ron Thuma grew out this coded bean in 2009, 2010, and 2011. After 2011 Ron Thuma had made a notation maybe stable. I have grown this coded bean in 2015, 2017, 2020, and 2022. It did indeed seemed stable so I named it in 2022. I really feel this is an original bean of mine. It is 7 generations removed from the original seed stock collected by Robert. Some of Robert Lobitz's original named beans are from a bag of outcrossed seed from Dan Jason of Salt Spring Seeds in Canada.

So In honor of Robert Lobitz I named the bean after The Skunk River in Minnesota which is a 36.2 mile 58.25 km long tributary of the Platte River, flowing through Morrison County and eventually joining the Platte before it merges with the Mississippi River.

 

[Blue-Jay]

'Bela Putersnica' She makes my heart sing.

My grow out of this bean this year also looks similar to this. The yellow pods I have are now developing I think red streaks and speckles. I will have to take a photo today. The plants are just loaded with yellow pods. I'm hoping we escape any of our usual frosts in early October. The long range weather forecast is for above normal tempertures into November.

 

[Artorius]

Schwarze Kugel ready for harvest.



I planted my Blue Jays a bit late, but September is supposed to be warm so I'm counting on a good crop.



Scala bush wax. I got my seeds from Franchi Sementi, so I think it's an Italian variety. Or maybe Dutch, I'm not sure. It's an early bean, so I planted 70 in July to pick the pods in the fall to eat.

 

[heirloomgal]

I would be more concerned about bush bean pods after a good rain. Since all their pods are within inches of the ground a sunny day or two can purculate moisture up through the plants and pods and ruin seeds certainly by making them sprout. I think a good mulching of your soil is helpful in getting better quality seed and pods or even weed barrier fabric. This year I didn't put down the weed barrier fabric. I just didn't have the desire to get it done. Pole beans I would have less concern for during a rain. I think of course the pole bean pods most under threat of spoiling are the ones the form near the ground.

This is interesting, I didn't realize the main concern was proximity to the ground. (I really am new to growing beans I guess!) So the excessive uptake of water doesn't cause the bean seeds to sprout? I thought that was the biggest worry, the ground getting saturated with water and the developing seeds sprouting instead of drying up.

I like how you've got your bush beans kept up with lines @Artorius, I've though many times I should do something like that because almost all my bush beans fall over and mature laying sideways. I've actually wondered how bush beans got so popular because that is a really bad tendency for collecting seeds. Do you run the strings before the plants are up and have them grow up into the support?

 

[flowerbug]

@Artorius your plants always look so nice. usually by this time of the season my bean plants are looking pretty beat up and drying down.

right now though my last planting of Purple Dove beans are looking pretty nice and if i wanted to eat some it would be a good time to pick them. i sure hope the deer, rabbits, etc. can't read...

@heirloomgal yes, my plants often get knocked over too between hard winds and heavy rains - i just pick the pods that are the best and turn the rest under as worm food.

 

[Blue-Jay]

his is interesting, I didn't realize the main concern was proximity to the ground. (I really am new to growing beans I guess!) So the excessive uptake of water doesn't cause the bean seeds to sprout? I thought that was the biggest worry, the ground getting saturated with water and the developing seeds sprouting instead of drying up.

Isn't that what I said? My concern for bush beans is wet ground sprouting and rotting seeds too. Did I word my statement oddly?

 

[heirloomgal]

Isn't that what I said? My concern for bush beans is wet ground sprouting and rotting seeds too. Did I word my statement oddly?

I think I just misunderstood @Blue-Jay , I guess what I was trying to ask was is it the excess water being taken up from the roots in saturated ground that makes the beans sprout in the pods, or the water soaking into the pods from the outside that does it? External vs internal sort of thing..

 

[heirloomgal]

'Brutte e Buon' which translates to 'Ugly and Good'

'Fagy Után' which oddly means 'after frost' in Hungarian. Contextually that phrase usually refers to fava beans, which are somewhat tolerant of frost. So it seems we have a common bean for some reason being called a fava...

 

[flowerbug]

...or the water soaking into the pods from the outside that does it? External vs internal sort of thing..

external, the plants don't pump more water into the seeds.

 

[ruralmamma]

Hey, I have a purple podded vine among the Little Red Cutshorts from you. Would you like me to send the seed when it matures?

Yes please! No hurry to send the seed though as I'm sure we'll have other varieties to swap at the end of the season too.

I shelled a bunch of the Trionfo Violetto and found extensive, subtle variation in the seed coat. I thought you might be curious.

@flowerbug, I have the same variation in seed. Can still send you a picture of I ever locate a ruler.