2021 Little Easy Bean Network - Bean Lovers Come Discover Something New !

[Zeedman]

It might age to take on the appearanse of the original seeds I received. However they are probably not going to get the chance to age much as they will be going into the freezer and that really puts a slow down on darkening of seed coats. I have seed in the freezer since 2013 looks like it was just grown this year.

I've been meaning to ask... do you have a walk-in freezer, or just a stand-alone freezer dedicated to seed storage? I really want to store more seed frozen, but with 2 freezers & a fridge already plugged in for food storage, I'd have to add a circuit to support another one.

 

[Blue-Jay]

I've been meaning to ask... do you have a walk-in freezer, or just a stand-alone freezer dedicated to seed storage? I really want to store more seed frozen, but with 2 freezers & a fridge already plugged in for food storage, I'd have to add a circuit to support another one.

I have 3 stand alone chest freezers in my basement dedicated to seed. I did have electricians come and put in two more circuts. One of them is on one circut, and two on the other. I think you should go for it and put in another circut. You can sell more seed at seed swaps. Store more seed that you want for your own use.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Bluejay77's Big Bean Show
Day 9 - The Beans I Grew This Summer​

Comtesse de Chambord SSE 226 - Bush Snap.

I grew a lot of these this summer for snap beans. They are good. Pods are a little shorter than a lot of snap beans that were introduced even in the 1950's and 60's. I originally purchased this variety from a company called Le Jardin Du Gourmet in 1975 who imported bean seed from France. They had their business located in New Jersey at that time. The seed of this one is larger than the rice sized bean also known as Hungarian Rice Bean. This bean is also the seed mother of my Blue Jay snap bean not the rice sized variety that many Canadian seed companies think is Blue Jay's seed mother. This year is the first season since 1977 that I've gotten an off type seed coat from this bean. Second photo on the right and looking forward to growing this off type next summer to check out any possible snap bean useage.




Comtesse De Chambord - SSE Bean 226.................Comtesse De Chambord 2021 Off Type


Conseva - Bush Snap

Compact bush plants grow without runners. Blossom white, with light green foliage. Produces oval green pods that are fleshy but not stringy and slightly bent. Spelled by German growers as Konserva. Marketed in 1925 by Samenzüchterei David Sachs or Seed Nursery of David Sachs Quedlinburg, Germany. Bred by David Sachs's company. A cross between European varieties Alpha x Saxa. David Sachs 1836-1918.

Crane Lake - Bush Dry

Bush Dry. 85 days to first dry pods. Very productive plants that grow to about 22 inches. 6 inch easy to hand shell pods. Beans are light off white base color when new with purple streaks and speckles. A Robert Lobitz original named bean he introduced through the Seed Savers Exchange yearbook.


Conserva....................................................................Crane Lake


Cream Six Weeks - Dry

Dry. First Dry pods in about 85 days. Blossom lavender. Viney plants about 14 inches tall. Seed the size of a navy. Short plump and cream/tan in color. Produces a profusion of 4 inch pods that wrinkle tight around it’s seed when dry, and have a blushed purplish color when plump with soft immature seed. There is no known history of this variety. It has been traded around the Seed Savers Exchange membership since the early 1980's The plants grow short runners and remind me of the old Refugee bean. The structure of the plant makes me think that it could easily be a variety that dates back into the 1700 and 1800's.


Cream Six Weeks

 

[heirloomgal]

My that is a very pretty cross. I like the tri-coloured effect.

What do you think accounts for the differences in Conserva beans from light pink, to pure white? Some of mine were very pinkish and others looked white as a bone. The pink toned ones I especially liked, such a 'pastel pink' colour. I've not seen a pink anywhere like Conserva has.

 

[Blue-Jay]

My that is a very pretty cross. I like the tri-coloured effect.

What do you think accounts for the differences in Conserva beans from light pink, to pure white? Some of mine were very pinkish and others looked white as a bone. The pink toned ones I especially liked, such a 'pastel pink' colour. I've not seen a pink anywhere like Conserva has.

The difference in Conserva's seed are probably just a natural variation the bean has when seeds are produced. It's proably comes from the two genes that most beans have that control seed coat color. It's probably depends which gene is turned on when the seed is produced. So you get a variation from pink blush to white. This is probably what is equal to some beans reverse coloring. I too like the pink blush. Wish all it's beans were that way.

I like that Comtesse de Chambord off type too. Looking forward to growing it. Hope it produces a good snap bean. Hope it's has taller plants with longer pods and stringless.

 

[Triffid]

@Bluejay77 Thank you Russ, for taking the time to explain the import process. Super helpful info

 

[jbosmith]

What are folks' favorite bush black bean varieties? Every few years I have a row in my community garden plot where I want beans but don't want to shade my neighbors' with pole beans. In the past I've used Manitoba Black here but they do better with support and I'm trying to avoid that. I'm currently thinking Black Turtle Beans but am open to other ideas.

An ideal variety would be something that I can plant in a single, narrow, 30' row, mulch with old hay and forget about until a single harvest in the fall. It doesn't need to be anything rare or with a great story as I probably won't save seed where they're going anyway. The earlier the better due to the insect pressure there.

The pic is some (apparently slightly dusty) Turtle Peas, my go-to pole black bean. I grow a few gallons of these a year because my other half says black beans are the best and who am I to argue?

 

[Triffid]

@jbosmith I really like the Beefy Resilient Grex, which are mostly black seeded. Delicious and early, ready by mid-August.

 

[jbosmith]

@jbosmith I really like the Beefy Resilient Grex, which are mostly black seeded. Delicious and early, ready by mid-August.

Ohhh if that's anything like Carol's potatoes, it'll take over my garden to the point that I won't even bother planting it anymore, just trusting that random plants will show up every year

 

[Blue-Jay]

Bluejay77's Big Bean Show
Day 10 - The Beans I Grew This Summer​

Dog - Bush Dry

This bean has a Jacob's Cattle seed coat. I acquired the bean from Amy Hawk's Simply Beans of Calhan, Colorado in 2011. The bean produced one off type this year that also will not be grown. I believe this off type may have been a semi runner.


Dog..............................................................................Dog off type 2021

Draper's Glen - Semi Runner Dry

Discovered in 2019 in my Marico grow out. Thought I would grow it this year. It struggled a bit in growing and produced a lot of off type seed. I did get back some seed that was colored like the original but seed had a lot of flattened ends which I think was due to the dry weather. I will take the best of this years seed and give it a try next growing season. Draper's Glen produced two off type seeds.


Draper's Glen..................................................................Draper's Glen off type #1


Draper's Glen off type #2


Eagle Island White - Bush Dry

One of the 26 Robert Lobitz beans I had received as a gift from Seed Savers Exchange in 2020. 17 inch tall plants with white blossoms. 4 inch pods contain medium size oval solid white beans. A Robert Lobitz orignal named bean that he introduced through the Seed Savers Exchange yearbook.


Eagle Island White


Early Dawn Pinto - Bush Dry

14 inch tall plants with white blossoms. 4.5 inch pods contain pinto colored and patterned beans. A Robert Lobitz original named bean he introduced through the Seed Savers Exchange yearbook in 2004.



Early Dawn Pinto