2020 Soybean Rescue?

[Zeedman]

Not wanting to hijack Russ's thread...

Soybeans are not as glamorous as beans, and not as many gardeners have a use for them... but I try to offer a wide selection (68 accessions at present) to other gardeners who are interested. Some are edamame. Others are intended for processing into soy milk, tofu, or other products - and there are few commercial sources for non-GM processing soybeans. Most of my soybeans came from the collection of Robert Lobitz, who in turn had obtained them from the USDA; they hale from many different nations.

The problem is that my collection is getting perilously old. Several very wet years - two of which broke consecutive records for precipitation - caused crop failures, or prevented planting entirely. As a result, I have lost so much ground that I may not be able to replenish seed stocks before they die in storage. These are the varieties currently at risk:

Name Grown Seed color Maturity Protein/oil Comment
Group (dry %)
(MatGrp)
Aan Tu Bai Hua Lu Da Dou 2015 green w/green cotyl. I 50/18 high protein
An,dunscaja 2015 brown w/black saddle I 46/18 high yield
Bei 77-6177 2016 yellow 000 40/20 edamame/process, my highest yield in MatGrp
Bei Liang 11 2016 yellow 00 43/17 limited qty
Besarabka 724 2014 yellow I 44/19 high yield
Crest 2010 yellow 00 43/20
DV 2371 2012 brown/black striped I 46/19 high yield
Fledderjohn 2014 brown I? edamame
Gardensoy 12 2014 yellow I edamame
GL 2216/84 2016 green 000 57/14 very high protein
Grande 2015 yellow 0 38/20 my highest yield in MatGrp
Grignon 17 2017 buff 0 44/18 low inventory
Grignon 18 2016 red-brown 0 low inventory
Hatsutaka 2016 green I 40/18 high-yield edamame
Hei Pi Qing Rang 2012 black w/green cotyl I 45/18
Hokkaido Black 2013 black 0?
Jaune de Desme 2015 yellow 00 47/16
Jewel 2014 yellow w/black saddle II 37/22 high oil
Karikachi 3 2016 green I 40/18 edamame
Kharkovskaya Zernokormovaya 2016 gray 00 53/16 very high protein
Kosodiguri Extra Early 2012 green 000 51/15 very early edamame
Krasnoarmejscaja 2012 gray I 47/16
Manitoba Brown 2016 brown 00 43/17
Musan-1 2012 grn-brn w/black saddle I 53/17 very high protein
Ogemaw 2013 brown 00 44/17
Ohozyu 2012 yellow II 38/22 high oil
Oosodefuri 2016 green I 40/19 edamame/very low
Pando 2012 green 000 52/15 very early edamame
PI 194626 2016 yellow w/brown mottling 00 40/18 large seed, possible edamame
PI 194635 2014 gray 00 46/17
PI 291291 2015 yellow w/brown saddle I 48/18
PI 427088 I 2012 red-brown II 44/17 high yield
PI 437524 2016 green-brown I 47/14 high yield
PI 522192 A 2016 black 0 41/16
PI 603698 E 2013 yel-green to gray-green I 48/17
Rouest 117 2014 black 0 37/21 fairly high yield
Sapporo Midori 2015 green 00 40/18 edamame
Selection No. 505 2016 black I 41/14 tiny seeds/semi-wild
Sioux 2016 green 000 52/15
Soja Brun Hatif U486 2016 brown 00 46/17
St. Ita 2013 green 0? early edamame?
SY 9514014 2015 black 0 50/18
T239 2012 yellow w/tan saddle II
Ta Li Tsao Shen Wu Tou 2012 black 000 51/15
Tai Xing Hei Dou 2016 black 0 47/16
Tengamine 2015 green I 40/19 high-yield edamame
Tokio Vert 2015 yel-grn w/brn mottling I very high yield
Ugra Saja 2015 red-brown 000 43/20
VIR 1501-40 2012 gray I 43/19 high yield
Wielnska Brunatna 2015 brown 000 43/17
Yi Tong Lu Da Dou 2016 gray-green w/mottling I 43/17 high yield
Zolta z Zolna 2016 yellow 00 45/17 my highest yield in MatGrp

I will try to post some photos soon.

The table didn't transfer well, which is the reason the columns wander a bit. The bizarre thing is that I spaced columns manually after the transfer - and they still show that way when I edit - but all extra spaces are eliminated when I save. Which undoes about 15 minutes of work... Any advice for fixing this jumbled mess is welcome. Is there a way to set tabs?

The protein & soy percentages are from USDA GRIN data for those accessions. The soybean Maturity Groups are relative maturity; 000 is the earliest (up into lower Canada) followed by 00, 0, then Roman numerals I, II, III, etc (up to X, which is tropical). Each successive Group is 10 days later than the one before. Because soybeans are photo-period sensitive, the actual maturity will vary depending upon latitude. As a rough frame of reference, here at 44 degrees North latitude, Group 000 will be about 90% dry for me in 90 days plus or minus. So Group 00 would be dry in about 100, Group 0 in 110, etc. My location is borderline for Group II (130+) which can be hit or miss, depending upon my frost date.

TEG has a vibrant seed-saving community, so I'm hoping that we can start a soybean preservation project. If anyone is able to grow a soybean or two, I would be grateful for the help. I would send the variety(s) of your choice, and ask that you return seed to me at season's end. If there is interest, I would be happy to post further info. Places that once offered heirloom soybeans retail (Victory Seeds, Synergy Seeds) are dropping or reducing their offerings, and I may be one of the only sources left; so I hope to get some of these into other hands.

 

[flowerbug]

Not wanting to hijack Russ's thread...

...

The table didn't transfer well, which is the reason the columns wander a bit. The bizarre thing is that I spaced columns manually after the transfer - and they still show that way when I edit - but all extra spaces are eliminated when I save. Which undoes about 15 minutes of work... Any advice for fixing this jumbled mess is welcome. Is there a way to set tabs?

when following up the columns are in much better shape. sometimes when copy and pasting i've used other tools to help the formatting. i've also sometimes had better luck using some html codes to preserve the spacing. < pre > comes up, not sure it would help, but you can try it. [no, it didn't help...]

you should also post this to HG.

 

[seedcorn]

On iPad, take a pix of spread sheet and post that.

 

[digitS']

Windows 10 has a "snipping tool," if that will be of help, Zeedman.

I plan to grow Bei 77-6177 again this year. Hopefully, the seed is still viable - I'll put some in soil mix today to see. Edamame was a happy find from the seed you sent me years ago. I knew nothing about it before then; in fact, I'm not sure that I even harvested any for edamame that first year.

I grew so many plants the first few seasons that even in this soy-inhospitable environment, I had quite a few dry soybeans. So, I learned to make tofu. After several seasons, I realized that it was only Bei that was happy in my garden. Then, I moved them - no longer having that ground. Oooh, Bei wasn't happy now! Beer Friend was tried but absolutely no better.

I could keep these few soybeans here at home this year in a seriously confined area. Either location, I'm not sure how many seed that I would have to share. At least, it would make edamame harvest easier for me if they are in the backyard since that is only a couple of weeks. (I did learn during my soybean famine that a local supermarket has this tasty vegetable frozen and I'm interested in trying that processing with whatever few I get beyond seed-saving.)

Steve
envious of soy growers

 

[seedcorn]

So how do you inoculate your seed?

 

[Zeedman]

So how do you inoculate your seed?

I have not inoculated for quite some time. When I began seed saving in earnest, for the first 5-6 years or so, I inoculated every legume planted - including soybeans. In recent years I discontinued that... accidentally at first, because I forgot to order the inoculant in time for planting. There has been no noticeable decrease in yield or vigor, and there are still plentiful nodules on the plants I examine. It appears there are enough organisms surviving over the winter to inoculate the plants naturally. My rural garden has been fallow for two years though, so provided that the weather allows me to plant there this year, I will inoculate any soybeans planted there. Probably those in my home plots too, since there should be enough inoculant & it can't hurt.

I did an experiment years back (7-8 years or so) to compare the yield of inoculated vs. non-, for all the legumes I was inoculating at the time. Two separate rows each of beans, limas, runner beans, peas, cowpeas, adzuki, mung, and garbanzo. The mung & adzuki failed that year due to late summer rains, as did the garbanzos; but there was no apparent difference in plant vigor. None of the beans or peas showed a noticeable different, nor the soybeans. Only the cowpeas & yardlong beans were improved by the inoculant - some dramatically - and examination showed more & larger nodulation. Those are the only seeds I routinely inoculate, perhaps that organism is unable to survive my winters.

 

[TwinCitiesPanda]

I’d like to help! I could do 2-3 varieties this year. What is the spacing requirement to avoid cross-pollination? I’ll let you pick which to send. I prefer edamame type, and earlier types are likely better for my shorter season. Message me for my address if you have something you think can grow well in zone 4a and tolerate windier conditions. I also would not be inoculating.

 

[Zeedman]

Thank you for the offer! I'll be sending a PM soon.

 

[flowerbug]

never had to innoculate soybeans around here. so many are grown the bacteria are blowing on the wind or in the soil already.

some of my other bean plants have had nodules on them when i've checked and others have not (in the same garden planted near each other). so far i have noticed them the most on the Yellow Eye beans which are semi-runners. i've kept an eye out for any crosses coming from them but i cannot say yet which beans that have shown up as crosses might have nodules because i don't usually plant enough of them all at once to be willing to disturb the plants to check.

 

[Zeedman]

I’d like to help! I could do 2-3 varieties this year. What is the spacing requirement to avoid cross-pollination? I’ll let you pick which to send. I prefer edamame type, and earlier types are likely better for my shorter season. Message me for my address if you have something you think can grow well in zone 4a and tolerate windier conditions. I also would not be inoculating.

As a rule, soybeans do not need very wide spacing for seed saving. I generally use 20-30' between varieties, but can space them as close as 10' apart if they are in different Maturity Groups & have other flowering crops between them. I try to separate group 0 or Group I varieties, with a Group 000 variety between, since they will usually begin flowering at different times. I also try not to grow two varieties of the same seed color, and/or flower color, in adjacent locations... so if a cross occurs, I can catch it quickly. Like common beans, soybean flowers are usually either white or purple - and very small. I've seen bees working the flowers, but with the measures mentioned above, crossing has been uncommon.