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Yes, interesting the variation of colouring in beans named Soldier. A quick google comes up with black markings and brown markings as well as your redder markings. My form of Soldier came from the Heritage Seed Library here in UK and the makings are interestingly blotchy. Photos could have been...

Yes, I think it’s pretty too. I’ll definitely give it a go this year and see what comes of it. It’s my first outcross!

Thanks. Yes, interesting, and an interesting discussion following from it. I think there is more relationship between the original and the outcross in that example though. I can’t see any of the Blooming Prairie parentage in my outcross, except perhaps size and shape of bean. The purple...

Blooming Prairie, the purple bean, is usually stable as far as I know. I grew about 12 plants and the rest were all true to type, ie. purple. I’ll look for Rio Zape, as you suggest. Thanks.

I had a very different bean in my Blooming Prairie patch this year. It seems too unlike the original to be an outcross but I don’t think it can have been a mix up because I wasn’t growing any other beans at all like it. Can outcrosses be so unlike the usual type? Photo of possible outcross then...

I grow Maria Zeller too. My seed it just a little rounder I think.

Way back on Bean Show day 1 you showed this Algarrobo bean. I was sent a bean labelled as Algarrobo which I’ve since seen called Algarrobo rote form. I’m wondering what the connection, apart from name, can be. They are totally different in appearance.

Yes, they look normal I'd say. Another good sign hopefully

Yes, thank you all three. I think your advice is very clear Russ. I will follow Artorius's advice with the magnesium sulphate and also try growing one or two seeds immediately in the rotted manure which I used quite heavily on the beds and see if that creates the same yellowing. When I get some...

Thanks, Artorius. I've been doing some googling on Magnesium sulphate. Interesting. It looks like the problem is either magnesium deficiency or mosaic virus. I hope you're right that it's a Mg problem perhaps caused by too much rotted manure when I planted them. It would be good to know how to...

Would it affect some varieties and others be fine though? There is such a marked difference between varieties

I’ve read also that I should pull up the beans but as they’re producing beans that will be quite a wrench. I have maybe 60 or 70 varieties and about a quarter are affected. Where I have the yellowing it’s whole varieties and then right next door there are healthy ones which is why I think it...

Yes, I’m beginning to think I have some varieties infected with mosaic virus. Frustrating, as I think it probably means I shouldn’t keep the seed and shouldn’t send Ernie’s Big Eye seed back to you, Russ.

Flowerbug, thank you for the disease identifiers. I’m wondering about a touch of mosaic virus. I’ll see how they go. The other possibility is something in the manure/compost I used on the beds.

How is the "Ernie's Big Eye" doing? I will be fascinated to see how your seed looks when you harvest them. I also have a set of this bean growing here too. Ernie's Big Eye is producing beans now and growing quite well. It is suffering a bit - but less - from the yellowing of the leaf which...

Interesting information on Fort Portal Jade. Thanks. I'll see how this year's crop go. Not in flower yet. With Mugungi - and I don't think we know where that comes from - I'm encouraged that some newish growth looks healthier. The older leaves are quite browned though. Any thoughts as to what...

Thanks Russ. I’ve now found Saritabee’s 2018 contributions on her growing experiences with Mugungi. More positive than mine - runners, flushes of flowers etc. I’ll just have to see how they progress but not promising. Fortunately other Network beans are doing well! 🤞🤞

Yes, thanks flowerbug for this. I guess beans are quite varying in the conditions they like. All the beans growing round Mugungi are thriving. Perhaps as Russ mentions, these originate from Africa and like hotter conditions than I have here. Fort Portal jade doesn't do very well for me either...

I’m growing the Network bean, Mugungi. So far the plants are very small, not very healthy looking and seem to be struggling. Has anyone else grown Mugungi?