The 2014 Little Easy Bean Network - Get New Beans On The Cheap

You will be able to tell by growing them next year and see what their pods look like. If they are limas they will have P. Lunatus pods. They could be a little bit plumper but they will look different than the P. Vulgaris pods. You will be able to tell.

Actually, their presence is itself odd. Based on what I have seen Lima beans ARE popular in China, but they usually only seem to like one kind; at least dried (looks like, and probably is, some form of the "Christmas" lima) I think this is the first time I've seen any other sort. Then again I have long since realized I don't know nearly as much about Asian legume preferences as I thought I did. Only recently I noticed that the "Healthy Mix Bean" that I used to mine for mottled eyed peas is actually grown in China (not, as I assumed for the packaging, Korea) So I was dead wrong about the Chinese not growing chickpeas (I suppose that also solves the mystery of the kala channa seeds I kept finding mixed into the black soybean bin)

The girls are all dressed up in their latest colors and ready to strut their stuff down the runway. So it's another day as "Russ Crow's 2014 Bean Fashion Show continues.

Last year in 2013 I planted three bean varieties from a gardener in Germany. In one of them a pink snap bean called "Junin". I found an outcross that was sort of violet colored mottled with a lighter color that I started to call "Shortwave Sunshine". In my big bean garden this year six miles from my house. I planted 10 of those seeds, and in a long 40 foot flowerbed on the south side of my house I planted 63 of these seeds. In the five photo panels below is the result of what happened with this bean. I found the results of growing this bean fairly surprising.

Out of the 10 seeds planted in my big bean patch "Shortwave Sunshine" on the left which produced seed just like the original in 2013 produced only one segregation. The dark brown mottled one on the right.

"Shortwave Sunshine" that was planted on the south side of my house would go on to produce (I believe I found) 12 segregations. In this photo panel the one on the left and the one in the middle are the same pattern just different colors, and a black seeded one on the right.

"Shortwave Sunshine" also produced variations of seeds of the same size and length, but just in different colors. The one on the far right in this photo panel is the same pattern as "Shortwave Sunshine" except instead of violet this one is red.

Also the same color shades but different seed shapes. The one on the left in this panel is pink but the seed shape is narrow and longer than the same pink one in the middle which is shorter and plumper. A butterscotch colored one on the far right with flattened ends from being packed tightly in it's pod. "Shortwave Sunshine" also segregated into not only bush type plants, but semi-runner, and pole types as well.

The two more interesting colors from all these segregations I think are the one in the middle and the one on the far right. The one in the middle has a total of three colors in it's seed and it looks like that doesn't show up well in this photo. The person who I got Junin from in Germany also raised "Bamburger Blaue". The segregation on the right looks strickingly similar to BB which makes me wonder if BB wasn't the male pollen donnor.

Out of all the segregations I have found in my bean growing this year. There are probably a number of them that I will not grow again. With all the bean varieties that I have I can not grow everything that comes along, but will probably concentrate on the most interesting ones. In all of the above photo panels here today. "Shortwave Sunshine" is probably the only bean in this set that I will continue to persue to see if it will eventually become settled down and no longer produce segregations. If anyone is interested in any of these segregations let me know and I can send them along. Otherwise they will probably eventually make their way into a pot of bean soup.


Hope you have enjoyed todays edtion of "Russ Crow's 2014 Bean Fashion Show"

I planted 3 Junin plants. Should have planted more, and will next year!

I got 3 different plants. 2 were bush; the one that looked like the seeds planted, and the dark tricolor pinto. The light beige with black markings was a pole plant.



The above is the packet of seeds I received from Russ, those that are left. They will be planted next season.

These below are from the bush plant that made the Junin looking seeds. It was the least productive of the three this hot droughty season.



These dark tricolor pinto, below, very beautiful and productive, of black, and 2 shades of platinum/beige, were also on a nice bush plant. I believe they will segregate further next year, hopefully with some more tricolors.





The third plant was a pole, and made these nice lightly pinto beans. The pods were also lightly striped.

I'll go photo the Junin Outcross ones now.



Russ, my girls aren't as good on the runway as yours, but they do pretty good for amateurs don't they?

Junin Outcross, Shortwave Sunshine; I planted 4 seeds. I'm gonna definitely plant the rest next year.

2 of the plants died in August after it got real hot, but they did not give up without trying hard. They made some nice seeds as they died, one making one pod, the other making 2 pods.
The other 2 plants did well. All are bush.

Below is what is left of the packet I received from Russ. They all get planted next year.





I clicked some button wrong. The creamy white seeds with the skin skin and pretty hilum are mid size seeds. The plant gave good production, and the pods really look good, like tendergreen's pods. The plant was good, a well behaved upright classic bush, and healthy, and tolerated the hot summer like a real trooper. I really think this one is a good variety that looks truly multipurpose, and seems to be tolerant of bad conditions. Pretty creamy seeds that show nice veining in their tender skin. Good show girls! You have professional runway model potential.



What the hey...technical problems on the runway!!

The #2 plant made these pretty candy red and reddish beige seeds, semi glossy. She produced a week after creamy girl. I think she'll be segregating more next year.



This is the plant that valiantly gave me ne good pod before passing on. Similar to Candy girl but more on the deep lavender side of color.



This plant gave 2 pods before passing on. Her seeds have shades of blue.

Ok, looks like I loaded these photos right
Above are what is still left of the packet I received from Russ. These will definitely be planted next year also...oooph, gotta figure on the space...

Below is a most amazing segregation from Ringwood. These are a beautiful bicolor pinto. Mostly bush, but did make some good short runners to around 3 feet, well behaved, so a 3 foot climber. This plant still here in November has one more nice pod ripening which will be picked a bit early and dried inside. Very productive. The green pods look edible, and have some fine purple stripes on them.



The one below is also very amazing to me. The plant was a big bush. There were things about the deepness of coloring that made me think it was going to make purple pods, but no, the pods are a nice bright green and look very edible and tender. Once the pods began drying, somewhat tight around the seeds, but easy enough to harvest seeds from, I was surprised to see seeds that look like they belong in purple pods, much like Royal Burgundy's seeds. Pretty sure Ringwood has a purple podded grandma.



I'd been thinking that this plant had died after it got hot, but she kept one stem alive long enough to make one nice pod. Red with golden beige markings. She's even prettier than the photo shows.




Ok, this plant!
It is a true half runner pole.
Her pods are VERY dark deep midnight purple, and are not very big, but she made a lot of them. The pods do not look edible.
The seeds are a silvery black, and are very glossy.
Early to mid season, and the production comes on suddenly, continues for a few weeks, then basically finishes. Very productive, and with the way they produce mostly all at once then finish, they seem like a real good variety where production is important, and space is needed for a full season garden with sequential planting.

Wow! Neat stuff Marshall. I was wondering what you got out of Ringwood. I never planted it this year. Maybe Next year. Ringwood comes out of one of Robert Lobitz's beans called White Robin.

I also ate some of the Shortwave Sunshine pods and they were tender and stringless after I steam cooked them or about 15 minutes. I think Shortwave is definitely a snap bean. The seeds sure seem to indicate a snap bean.

The Nippersink girls wanted in on the fashion show too. Above is what is left in the packet I got from Russ.



The white and black one surprised me some. Nice and productive, one of the earlier ones, and grew as a pole bean.

Below are those that grew very similar seeds to those planted:



And last but not least, Pretty Jane. She came out nicely orange, plump, and grew pretty well. Productive too. Looks like chile to me!

waitaminute...i pushed a wrong button and put up the same photo twice.

Here are the Pretty Jane orange ones...