2026 Little Easy Bean Network – Plant A Garden, Water Your Soul, Join Our Family

Neen5MI said:

I grew Dixie Speckled Butterpea 2 years ago in my 6a Michigan garden. I expected it to be a pole, but it grew as a bush bean, and matured in good time in my garden. Also, reasonably productive, and very pretty, to me. It might be worth a try in your setting.

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I believe I have Dixie Speckled Butterpea in my freezer. I believe according to what I see on my freezer file that there is probably at leas a quarter pound of this bean in the freezer.

Touchdown! The beans have arrived!

Thanks so much @Blue-Jay! Wow, feels like


And thank you for the tomato seeds! Definitely on the grow list for this year!

Neen5MI said:

I'm sorry I didn't see this before you made your request for network beans. I grew Dixie Speckled Butterpea 2 years ago in my 6a Michigan garden. I expected it to be a pole, but it grew as a bush bean, and matured in good time in my garden. Also, reasonably productive, and very pretty, to me. It might be worth a try in your setting.

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Thanks for the tip @Neen5MI! It's so pretty!

Dahlia said:

Wow! Did you hang it on your wall!? Impressive piece!

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@Dahlia, I didn't hang it, my brother did. He is a ranger.

@Blue-Jay your beans arrived safe and sound today! I appreciate your dedication and attention to detail with the network beans. My 8y/o daughter insisted on being the one to open the box. Not sure which of us is more excited for spring.

On another note, man… I was looking back through last years network thread and saw y’alls grow out lists, I am humbled! How do you’s handle cross-polination distances when doing so many different varieties? I’m working with 6 varieties and a 1/3 acre yard, and I’m anxious to evaluate sunlight and actual distances in the garden. I have already primed the husband to expect the garden to take over more of the yard this year.

@Heliena most of the regular common beans will self-pollinate, it's the others that can be more of a challenge.

for those i regularly grow i keep an eye out for crosses when i'm shelling and sorting so i don't get too much genetic wandering going on.

i normally interplant intentionally to encourage crosses and even with the common beans being interplanted for several years i didn't see any crosses i was interested in for four years (a few years later i now have a dozen or more from that same project line going).

Heliena said:

How do you’s handle cross-polination distances when doing so many different varieties?

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I don't seem to have a lot of crossing. It seems when I get crosses it comes in beans I get from other people. However I do my best to bury Limas far apart among Phaseolus Vukgaris common beans. If you plant two different limas next to each other I guarentee you will have a cross. Maybe in both of them.

Blue-Jay said:

I don't seem to have a lot of crossing. It seems when I get crosses it comes in beans I get from other people. However I do my best to bury Limas far apart among Phaseolus Vukgaris common beans. If you plant two different limas next to each other I guarentee you will have a cross. Maybe in both of them.

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Oh wow, this is good to know. I had no idea about that. I guess the bees are very attracted to the flowers of limas, like runner beans? I'm glad I read this before planting time.

flowerbug said:

@Heliena most of the regular common beans will self-pollinate, it's the others that can be more of a challenge.

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Blue-Jay said:

I don't seem to have a lot of crossing.

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Thats comforting. Thankfully Im only working with common beans, and one runner. I’ve never had any crosses happen before. It seems I may be over thinking it! The seed savers exchange recommends 10ft distance, but it seems like it’s harder to get them to cross than to keep them from doing so. I also suppose I didn’t check if that recommendation was for beans as a whole, or if it was specific to P. Vulgaris.

Heliena said:

Thats comforting. Thankfully Im only working with common beans, and one runner. I’ve never had any crosses happen before. It seems I may be over thinking it! The seed savers exchange recommends 10ft distance, but it seems like it’s harder to get them to cross than to keep them from doing so. I also suppose I didn’t check if that recommendation was for beans as a whole, or if it was specific to P. Vulgaris.

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Even better news for you @Heliena, the chart that provides that distance I think is outdated or something. Because when you look at the bean seed saving page it says this -

Spacing Requirements​

Plant bean seeds about 2-3″ apart. Space rows 12-36″ apart. Garden spacing is the same whether growing for seed or to eat.