2016 Little Easy Bean Network - Gardeners Keeping Heirloom Beans From Extinction

[Blue-Jay]

@aftermidnight,

Neat story about Mr. Tungs bean. I'm surprised that your curiosity hasn't gotten you to try growing your Mr. Tungs outcross or mutation just once to see what it does.

 

[Blue-Jay]

The Big Bean Show - Day #12​

This is Billingsgate Segregation #5. Discovered of course in Billingsgate in 2014. I grew this segregation again in this 2016 season, and it gave me back the same seed 100%. Maybe an indication that this bean is already stable. Will find out for sure with further grow outs. This seed is larger and much wider than all the other Billingsgate segregations.

 

[aftermidnight]

@aftermidnight,

Neat story about Mr. Tungs bean. I'm surprised that your curiosity hasn't gotten you to try growing your Mr. Tungs outcross or mutation just once to see what it does.

@Bluejay77 I did, the last pictures are from the second year growing it. I would maybe try growing seed from the last picture again but as the pods don't make a good snap I can't spare the space. The downfall of having a small garden.

Annette

 

[journey11]

@Bluejay77 wow, so many segregations from the beans you grow. I've only had this happen once in all the years I've been growing beans. Here's my one and only.

I've been growing this bean since the 70's early 80's? I'd have to look it up. Back in 2010 I grew a teepee of Mr. Tung's a pole bean brought to Canada well over 100 years ago now. I was given a sample of this bean by the granddaughter of the family who originally grew it.
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Mr. Tung and the seed it produces.

In one pod there was one seed that was a different color.
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The one different colored seed and the pods it produced when grown. I grew seed from one of these pods the next year and got this....

View attachment 16850
Shelly and dried seed, I grew a few seeds from this and got this...

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Pod with more pink and again a different shaped seed and a different colored seed coat.
I think I have a few of these seeds still kicking around somewhere but doubt if I'll grow it again. I was only growing one other bean that year but the teepee wasn't anywhere near this one so pretty sure it wasn't a cross.

For many years aside from scarlet runners I only grew two varieties of common beans, Mr.
Tung's and an Italian pole bean brought to Vancouver Island from Italy in the early 1900's.
I got my seed for Mr. Tung's from the woman who wrote the below article for the now defunct Island Grower. The Italian pole bean ( Emilia's Italian ) is another story, in fact in was my quest in finding out the history of this particular bean that started my heirloom bean collecting addiction.

View attachment 16845
Mrs. Mollison has since passed away but being the pack rat that I am I kept this article. Low and behold the daughter of Mrs. Mollison found a few of these beans when going through her mother's things and started inquiring if anyone had a copy of the article she knew her mother had written about them. She found it at the Populuxe Seed Bank, I had sent it to the PSB a year or two before as the information they had on it wasn't quite accurate. (Note to self, no matter what DH says never throw anything away, it might be important some day).
I sent some seed to Remy (Sample Seed Shop) a couple of years ago, she had it listed in here 2016 catalog.

I also got my first Cherokee Trail of Tears beans from an offer in the Island Grower back in the 80's and have been growing these also since then, not every year as I have so many varieties in my stash I haven't grown yet. I try hard not to add to my bean stash but have to admit I'm failing miserably.

It's the history that goes with these family heirlooms that absolutely fascinates me, the so sad story that goes with the Cherokee Trail of Tears is a reminder that we have come a long way since then, we still have a long way to go, but we're getting there.

I'll start another thread about Emilia's Italian, it shows how important it is to some that these heirlooms are kept in circulation, sharing with as many others as you keeps them from going the way of the Dodo bird.

Annette.

Wow, what a world of difference from the original Mr. Tung's! I love the look of those long, flat pods on the original. Looks like it would be an awesome bean to can up. Probably has strings I figure?

 

[journey11]

Russ, I'll be putting my package into the mail pretty soon. Just waiting for the Solwezi #2 seed to completely dry as it was last to come in.


#47-A, "Gopher", Pole/Snap
54 days to snap beans, 70 days to dry pods

I ended up with 4 plants of #47, 2 with green vines (Gopher) and two with red vines (Cleopatra, which was 2 weeks later coming to bear.) All were strong climbers. Gopher is a decent snap bean, but not particularly outstanding for tenderness or flavor and does have strings. I found both solid green and red speckled pods on these two green vines and regret that I didn't plant them separately. Couldn't tell for sure which vine held which or if they were just different phases of maturity. The blooms were pale lavender for both and the pods are approximately 4-5 inches long. Looking at the seed, there is a very faint difference in the color as well, half of the seed having a blueish tone to it and the rest a bit golden. Otherwise they are indistinguishable and will need closer observation on the next planting.

#47-B, "Cleopatra", Pole/Snap
68 days to snap beans, 85 days to dry pods

Pods are more flat and slender than Gopher, also 4"-5" in length. They start out as green podded and appear sprayed with purple as they age. Averages 7 seeds per pod. A little tough, but they would make a decent snap bean. Pods have strings.

#48-A "Pixie" and #48-B "Avalon", Bush/Snap
60 days to snap bean, 80 days to dry pods

I was really pleased with #48, both for its pretty seed and for its outstanding qualities as a snap bean. I had 3 plants of these, all compact bush and heavy bearers. I did not separate the 3 plants and determined after collecting the seed there were definitely 2 different beans here. (Nevermind those dark purple seeds, which are a reverse seed coat from just two or three pods.) They all had a pale lavender bloom and slender pods that were approx. 4-5" long, starting out plain green. Some pods were observed to have dark purple splotches with maturity, but found to contain either type of seed. It is a stringless snap bean with really good flavor.

#49, "Folsom Ridge", Bush/Snap
65 days to snap bean, 85 days to dry pods

This was from the 2 seed sample and only one plant made it and was a very sad, scraggly looking plant besides. I almost named this one "Scrappy Joe" since it was such a fighter, but decided that probably nobody would want to eat a bean with a name like that. Folsom is the road across from mine and we're on a Ridge, so there you go. It did make a decent turn out though, a compact bush which bore a pretty good load of snap beans which have strings. I didn't get to taste these as I was nervous about having enough seed.

Those were the three we got to name. Ava stepped in with her imagination and helped. (The kids did much of the shelling with me too.) I will hope to come back tomorrow and finish my report on the other 5 network beans I grew.

 

[aftermidnight]

Wow, what a world of difference from the original Mr. Tung's! I love the look of those long, flat pods on the original. Looks like it would be an awesome bean to can up. Probably has strings I figure?

@journey11 , no noticeable strings, beans are 8-9" long with a slight buttery taste. I only use them as a snap bean so can't comment on the canning. A closer look.

Still tender at this stage.

Annettte

 

[Tricia77]

Journey11 your Gopher beans look similar to my Blue Heron beans. I love your Pixie and Avalon beans❤️

 

[Blue-Jay]

@journey11, You got nice looking growth out of most of the beans you grew this year. Also neat looking beans popped up for you. I love them all. Like your photos too. "Pixie" reminds me of Mrociumere with with purple speckles over that spray painted background. Exciting stuff from everyone's grow outs.

 

[Blue-Jay]

The Big Bean Show - Day #13​

This Billingsgate Segregation #7. Found in Billingsgate in 2014. Grew it out again this year and segregated into 2 other seed coats.

Billingsgate #7

Billingsgate #7 - Segregation #1

Billingsgate #7 - Segregation #2

 

[aftermidnight]

I should have said in my above post the Mr. Tung has been my only cross or mutation from beans from my own stock but now that I think of it there have been a few surprises over the years in beans I've received in trade.

I grew Red Eye Fall for the first time last year and got these, it has yet to be determined if the solid colored ones will revert back to the original colored seed coat or not.


I grew Blue Shackamaxon from seed I got in trade and got this mix, the light colored ones are speckled.


And lastly these from Logan Giant speckled seed, I've read there is more than one Logan Giant in circulation.



@Bluejay77 do you have this one? Tennessee Greasy Mix, this is one crazy mixed up bean, no-one's been able to sort this one out. I have yet to plant a single color and get the same colored seed back, it's a true mix.
This is the original mix I bought.


I grew this one....

and got these, not a single one like the seed I planted.

even the pods were different shapes and colors.


and...

If you don't have the space and you want a bit of variety this is the one to grow .

Annette