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Heresy. Proper procedure is to put the broadfork level on the ground, step on it, fall to the left because the right side has a rock, dig it out with a garden fork, try again, fall forward as the center of the fork slides backwards off a rock, bend at least two tines of the garden fork digging...

As someone who stubbornly keeps trying to use a broadfork in glacial till, I can say with experience that it's best to start with a smaller garden fork. My broadfork tines are probably twice as long as a standard garden fork, and I have yet to feel like I've done much beyond poking some holes in...

I got up this morning, go zapped while walking past a doorknob, and thought, "Ahhh, @Zeedman can finally package up his beans" :celebrate

If I remember right she tried to hand the business off, some varieties got lost, and now she's back at it but at a smaller scale?

^^ and a lot of observed and perfectly valid minor "distinguishing" bean differences are due to environment over genetics (or environment causing different expression at least).

These were completely dry. I do often mix shellies in when I process during harvest season though. I'm not sure mixing is 100% approved by the USDA standards, but both cooking and processing times are longer for dry beans than shellies, so I use those numbers and don't worry too much about it.

They're low acid so you need a pressure canner. I have the Presto 23 quart. Then I do this: https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_04/beans_peas_shelled.html I always do an overnight soak rather than the no-soak methods. The latter just seems like extra work to me. Edit: The Presto is a dial guage...

I think these have more white than Lilascheke but I'm not positive. The pods were green though. It wouldn't surprise me if they were related! I soaked somewhere around 6 quarts of dry beans for maybe 16 hours, boiled them for 30 minutes in a 5 gallon pot that was threatening to overflow...

Hey bean friends! I've been putting off posting pics of my last varieties to ripen this year, because I needed to compare beans to leftovers to make sure my notes were correct. I present you with 'Ukrainian Pole Bean' from SSE (https://exchange.seedsavers.org/page/listing/id/3127.187619)...

I had this conversation with them too, after growing them right next to a P. vulgaris variety that I needed good seed from. Grr. I got my Fiestas and they're definitely on the trial list for next year. They're great looking beans! The Nona's Soup Peas I got from them are also on my list.

My lights aren't in use at the moment but I have pretty much the exact same setup! My lights are 48" Barinas that I think came as two eight-packs from Amazon, and I prop up baby starts by turning other, empty trays upside down.

Mulch suppresses it pretty well. They rarely come up in my garden rows until I harvest and leave a bunch of bare rows. The most invasive weed in that garden is June-bearing strawberries which have developed the survival tactic of providing just enough fruit that I get yelled at if I kill too many.

I admittedly haven't read this whole thread, but the Zebrina pic caught my attention. I have the same plants in my home garden and have observed the same things. At this point I mostly just let the late ones survive that come up after garlic harvest disturbs the soil.

Ahhhh, I dug Fred's book out and I was thinking of Norridgewock. I don't know how closely related they are but they look similar.

I'm going from memory but I believe this is mentioned .. somewhere .. as an Abenaki (or general Wabanaki maybe) variety, so it may pre-date Maine! It might be in Fred Wiseman's book.

My garden plans are already so full that I don't know where I'm going to plant everything I have!

Like when @heirloomgal and I figure out that we ordered the same bean from the same farm within hours of each other? :-) Also, the exchange right for Canadian seeds is pretty spectacular right now.

All the cool kids are growing Fiesta beans next year. ;-)

https://www.seedways.org/product-page/weaver-pole-bean Apparently he liked them! I have some peas coming from Roughwood this year.

Inner bean monolog: Ohh, that black and white Jacob's cattle type is nic.. WHOA LOOK THE PURPLE SUPER SPECKLE BEAN! (Yes, I know, I should maybe drink less coffee)