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

Neen5MI · Sunday at 7:32 AM

flowerbug said:
yes, Venda is like that too, better to shell before they dry down completely. this remind me that i have some Provider to shell out at some time too. those seem to be larger beans but the pods are similar in how tough they are and how much work to get the seeds out and clean.

heirloomgal said:
I shelled the 'Stanley' bush bean pods tonight. That was a truly stellar green bean, a standout of 2025. And it stood out again as a sheller - it nearly drove me to madness. Those itty bitty pods all dried & suctioned onto the itty bitty seeds. There is no kind of bean more tedious to shell that this type. It's almost like a rice bean, with a greenish tinge to the white seeds, I'm done now - thank heavens!

I was poised to never plant Kifl Mucko again for this very reason. Sooooo productive, but a PIA to shell by hand. It occurred to me to toss the pods in a pillowcase and stomp on them for 6-10 minutes. Magic! Seeds and pods separated beautifully, and I just waited for a breezy day to winnow the chaff. Did I lose an occasional seed that failed to thresh out? Sure, but it was worth the price to continue growing what is now one of my favorite bean varieties. The method is so effective that I could use it on all my completely dried beans, but I'd be done shelling everything in a couple hours! I find the hand shelling so relaxing (when it's easy) that I won't give it up.

I had 3/4 of a paper grocery bag full of these pods, and was so frustrated, I was literally prepared to compost the whole lot. I'm very glad an alternative presented itself.

flowerbug · Sunday at 9:40 AM

Neen5MI said:
I was poised to never plant Kifl Mucko again for this very reason. Sooooo productive, but a PIA to shell by hand. It occurred to me to toss the pods in a pillowcase and stomp on them for 6-10 minutes. Magic! Seeds and pods separated beautifully, and I just waited for a breezy day to winnow the chaff. Did I lose an occasional seed that failed to thresh out? Sure, but it was worth the price to continue growing what is now one of my favorite bean varieties. The method is so effective that I could use it on all my completely dried beans, but I'd be done shelling everything in a couple hours! I find the hand shelling so relaxing (when it's easy) that I won't give it up.

I had 3/4 of a paper grocery bag full of these pods, and was so frustrated, I was literally prepared to compost the whole lot. I'm very glad an alternative presented itself.

i've used a variety of methods over the years but my favorite is by hand shelling as then i can do selections based upon how easy it is to get the beans out of the shells or how many have stickers (little bits of the pod stuck to them) or ...

if the beans are super dry stepping on them may break them apart.

i usually don't have enough pods of these kinds of beans to worry about how i will shell them. even if they are a PITA i'll get through them eventually.

heirloomgal · Monday at 6:08 PM

flowerbug said:
i've used a variety of methods over the years but my favorite is by hand shelling as then i can do selections based upon how easy it is to get the beans out of the shells or how many have stickers (little bits of the pod stuck to them) or ...

if the beans are super dry stepping on them may break them apart.

i usually don't have enough pods of these kinds of beans to worry about how i will shell them. even if they are a PITA i'll get through them eventually.

I have always relished the process of shelling beans too. This year though I tried something different, packing the pods into paper bags when dried and setting them aside. I thought this was a good idea for 2 reasons, one that I could be fully sure that the beans are deeply dried to ensure the best seedcoats. And 2, to be able to take my time and enjoy the process more. Boy, that did not happen. The opposite transpired, I've felt terribly rushed and it's been a chore like experience instead of reliable bliss. The bags took up too much room in the house and everyone grumbled about it, lol. Definitely not going to do it this way again, I'll shell them sooner than later. My intention to sell some Jerusalem artichokes this fall totally backfired as result of my plan too, I got too swamped with shelling to fill orders for those. Bummer too, because there is interest in them but I just don't have the time right now.

flowerbug · 2025-10-29T15:29:21-0500

i was sure weeks ago that the garden i started working on today did not have any beans left in it that i was particularly worried about.

as i was double checking today i came across some Four Corners Red plants that had plenty of pods on them, they all need to dry down a bit more and i'm not sure of the condition but even if they're not perfect i can still grow them again next year. they are later than i'd generally like.

Blue-Jay · 2025-10-29T17:38:16-0500

I grew the traditional Rio Zape this summer. Not the one bred by the U of California. Had we not had that extra sevearl weeks of warm weather these would not have turned like they did for me this year. I would probably have been pulling up plants and taking them home to dry in my garage. However this is the most beautiful and productive Rio Zape crop I have ever grown. Even at this I severed the plants from their roots and let them dry in the sun for a little over a week. This bean was the very last to be harvested

heirloomgal · 2025-10-29T19:29:23-0500

Happy to hear it @Blue-Jay! Always such a pleasure when a late maturing bean variety turns out so nice, and you get lucky with the weather!

I am officially done shelling absolutely everything and it feels darn great. I did the last ones late last night and everything is in jars. All things considered, a good year. I've had better, but still plenty to be happy about. Voles killed several plants mid season, so my yields were really hit by that, but what was not subject to voles did great. I continue to be amazed by the Appalachian varieties, again this year they are some of my best producers. Once Halloween is over I'm hoping for some sunny days to take pictures of the pretty ones.

My next step is to figure out the Zonos app so I can get the network beans off to you @Blue-Jay. Cross your fingers for me please, my friend just tried to mail some peas to an SSE member and used the app with no success. She appealed for help but Zonos is so swamped right now they said they'd need at least 2 days to get back to her order. She is really tech savvy too, so now I'm really worried! I'm thinking I should wait to put it in the mail until you come back?

Decoy1 · 2025-10-30T00:57:40-0500

Blue-Jay said:
I grew the traditional Rio Zape this summer. Not the one bred by the U of California. Had we not had that extra sevearl weeks of warm weather these would not have turned like they did for me this year. I would probably have been pulling up plants and taking them home to dry in my garage. However this is the most beautiful and productive Rio Zape crop I have ever grown. Even at this I severed the plants from their roots and let them dry in the sun for a little over a week. This bean was the very last to be harvested

Please could you explain further, @Blue-Jay. I’m growing Rio Zape this year too. Some of the last of them are stained but I have plenty of good seeds.
But how can I tell whether they’re the original version or the one bred by U of California. And why did they breed another version?

ruralmamma · 2025-10-30T06:27:14-0500

I'm officially done with the garden and only have a tray of Coal Camp pods drying. Rest have been shelled and the majority are awaiting a final sort and packaging. Managed to get two beds of garlic planted and those beds mulched and one bean trellis down. Rain started yesterday and there's a slight chance we could see some flurries by the weekend. I'll work on cleaning off the rest of the beds and getting them ready for winter as I can.

I grew the improved Rio Zape and only had two plants survive vole damage. They did produce a few pods but other beans in that bed did poorly as well, so I think it's a soil issue more than anything else. Oddly Brinker Carrier was one bean that I thought had done well until I did the final sort. Still have plenty to return to Russ but not as many as I previously thought.

flowerbug · 2025-10-30T06:50:29-0500

Decoy1 said:
Please could you explain further, @Blue-Jay. I’m growing Rio Zape this year too. Some of the last of them are stained but I have plenty of good seeds.
But how can I tell whether they’re the original version or the one bred by U of California. And why did they breed another version?

added disease resistance and improved productivity. it should be marked somehow on the package if it is the new variety.

Blue-Jay · 2025-10-30T07:12:09-0500

Decoy1 said:
Please could you explain further, @Blue-Jay. I’m growing Rio Zape this year too. Some of the last of them are stained but I have plenty of good seeds.
But how can I tell whether they’re the original version or the one bred by U of California. And why did they breed another version?

I know that I grew the traditional one because when I recieved the U of California versions. I recorded that information in my computer records when I put the U of California seed in the freezer. So when I took seed out of my freezer the record just simply showed Rio Zape and how many seeds were in the packet. I know that this years Rio Zape I grew hasn't been rebred. So when you acquired your seed of Rio Zape was there any information given that it was the newly bred verison of Rio Zape. If not you probably have the original or what I call the traditional version. I don't think there is much of the newly bred Rio Zape in circulation yet. I've seen some of the new beans from U of C being listed in the Seed Savers yearbook and the lister does divulge the fact that these beans were bred at U of C like South West Red etc.

I think the University of California bred new versions to make them resistant to Common Bean Mosaic Virus (BCMV) and to increase their productivity. I personally wish that all heirloom beans were resistant to BCMV.

Just a side note about breeding and changes in beans. I think it's interesting that some people or organizations make a big deal about beans crossing. Oh your beans aren't genetically pure anymore they will say. What has happened to the bean in the last 9,000 years. Well they have evolved. They have been selected and bred by humans. I think if we could come back in one or two thousand years from now we will probably find a lot more changes in beans.

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

Neen5MI

Garden Ornament

flowerbug

Garden Master

heirloomgal

Garden Addicted

flowerbug

Garden Master

Blue-Jay

Garden Master

heirloomgal

Garden Addicted

Decoy1

Garden Addicted

ruralmamma

Deeply Rooted

flowerbug

Garden Master

Blue-Jay

Garden Master

Latest posts

Sister Sites

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

Garden Ornament

Garden Master

Garden Addicted

Garden Master

Garden Master

Garden Addicted

Garden Addicted

Deeply Rooted

Garden Master

Garden Master

Log in

Sister Sites