2017 Little Easy Bean Network – Everything Beans, Post It Here & Join The Fun

[journey11]

I'm waiting on the last of Crystal Wax to dry down but other than that my network beans are about done. I prefer to save seed from nice clean pods which wasn't a problem for the rest but Crystal Wax did not do especially good in my garden. I do have some later pods that look nicer so I'll wait till they dry down to pack up my seeds. Here is what they looked like last night.
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Burgundy Bolitas and Refugee are pretty much finished except for an off-type in Refugee. It is later, has a larger vine and larger straighter pods.

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Here is what they looked like as I worked on them last night. They Crystal Wax off-type did much much better in my garden with a single vine out producing all the rest. You can't tell in the photo but the Refugee off-type has grey mottling while the CW is jet black. I'm calling them Escapee and Crystal Black.
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I was watching Antiques Road Show last night (wile shelling out seed) where people bring in stuff to get it appraised. A fellow came had a collection of cans found under an old house in Arizona. He said they were dated 1876, the appraiser said that was also the year when colorful paper labels were first used on cans. I paused the TV and took this picture.
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Last is a shot of my Little Brown Greasy beans, a favorite of ours. Always reliable and productive as well as tasty both as snaps and dry. You can see there on the bottom ones the hot dry weather is affecting the younger pods. Hate to see that but there are plenty anyway.
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Your Little Brown Greasy beans make such handsome pods. I've got several Appalachian heirlooms, some are greasy, some cut-short, etc. Would you be interested in trading me later in the fall? This year I'm growing out Alice Whitis, Nickell, Sammy Bean, White Creaseback and White Wax Pink Tip. They're blooming now, but I'll post pics when they make pods.

How neat is that antique can of Refugee beans! A little piece of history you caught there.

 

[Blue-Jay]

I was watching Antiques Road Show last night (wile shelling out seed) where people bring in stuff to get it appraised. A fellow came had a collection of cans found under an old house in Arizona. He said they were dated 1876, the appraiser said that was also the year when colorful paper labels were first used on cans. I paused the TV and took this picture.

Love that Refugee bean can. Would be neat to find that one. Refugee was one of the most popular beans of the 19th century. Cataloged by the J.M. Thornburn & Company as far back as 1822. So popular of a bean that is was widely grown well into the 20th century.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

It is SO NICE to see something that I planted growing the fence, instead of bindweed!

I find this a little amusing, as I have bindweed, or bindweed like plants, growing on my railing.....on purpose! (it's part of my work checking seed I find to see if any of the "bindweeds" make nice enough flowers to count as morning glories.

 

[reedy]

@journey11 , my greasy beans are a favorite of ours so I always keep a quart or so of seed in reserve, I imagine I could spare a few. Remind me later in the season and we can set up a trade.

@Bluejay77 , the fellow on the TV show said those cans were worth $300 each, pretty neat. We liked the Refugee a lot as a snap bean and I have enough to cook up a small test as dry beans. They may become widely grown again, at least in my garden.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Russ I believe you were right when you said I'd start to see some stability in my outcrossed beans this year. I just opened a Jas #1. I have several Jas plants but this is the first with pods. The pod was turning leathery and had an insect hole so I knew I wasn't going to get anything useful out of it so I opened it. I wanted to get rid of the insect (a worm) too before it reproduced. The color is light but it will darken and the pattern is the same as Jas from last year. The growth habit (pole) and flower color (lavender) are the same as last year. The pods are also striped. I may have a name that sticks.

I also opened a Miss T #6. Some pods had turned brown but not really crisp but rain was forecast so I got them so they would not get wet. The beans again will darken but the pattern, color, pods, and even flowers are the same as last year's Miss T. The difference is that last year's Miss T was a very vigorous pole bean and this is a bush. I'll have to come up with a new name for this one but I have hopes of it stabilizing next year.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Hi @Ridgerunner,

Good to see you are getting some stability in your last years named beans.

How many of the Miss T's did you plant this year? Do you have any left over seed from last year. Are all of the plants from this year bush plants? I wonder if you plant enough of the Miss T seeds you might still get some pole plants out of them.

 

[Blue-Jay]

@Ridgerunner,

Also have you gotten any of your Blue Jay beans to grow as true bush plants? Did you find in those plants and pods to lack a little uniformity?

 

[LocoYokel]

My Scarlet Runner wall is blooming well but the beans won't set on. Is there anything I can do to help them? Are they missing something special? I know they make a spray for tomatoes to set...

 

[Blue-Jay]

Scarlet Runner beans often will not set pods after blooming because the weather is to warm for them. A little cooler weather might get them going. I've always thought of Illinois summers as short and hot but I've always had good luck with them here. I haven't planted any of my Runner beans since 2015.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi @Ridgerunner,

Good to see you are getting some stability in your last years named beans.

How many of the Miss T's did you plant this year? Do you have any left over seed from last year. Are all of the plants from this year bush plants? I wonder if you plant enough of the Miss T seeds you might still get some pole plants out of them.

I planted six Miss T's but with rabbits and some not growing I'd have to count how many are actually growing. Some did not make it and most are replants so they are later. If I remember right the rest are pole. Last year's Miss T was a very vigorous pole bean that produced over 500 beans.

I don't think I have any seeds left with the replanting but I sent you 60 last year. It's an interesting pattern, one side has a white mark on it, sort of a crescent, while the other side does not. It dries to a dark brown but there is a purplish tint to it. These are what the plant produced last year.