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

[Artorius]

I'm working really hard to contain my inner 'kid in the back seat', "Are we there yet???" (don't make me pull this car over!)

But saritabee's comment brings a question to mind:

Is it advised to plant only a portion of the Network beans? Perhaps as insurance against disaster? Or maybe plant a portion and then the rest a little bit later?

@meadow
Save some just in case. Last year, I failed with three network beans. I have not planted all the seeds and will have a second chance this year.

 

[flowerbug]

hmmm. I have a pretty good supply of each one, and don't think they are last samples:

Walcherse Bruine Kogel - 17 seeds, 2019
Marfax - 16 seeds, year? [site shows grown 2016, 2017]
Swedish Brown - 12 seeds, 2018

They are going into Garden #1, which is elevated from the surrounding ground, and quackgrass has been eradicated.

Production beans and 1-2 seed-saving pole beans will be in Garden #2 (90% quackgrass-free), which is separated from Garden #1 by a lot of space, an outbuilding, and a couple of plum trees. And one seed-saving pole bean will go in the flowerbed in front of the house (gardens #1 and #2 are in the 'backyard').

Swedish Brown and Marfax are available in other places so probably not a risk of being lost for good. i may even have Swedish Brown here (but i can't currently verify that). the other i'm not familiar with at all. that one looks more rare...

 

[flowerbug]

I am slowly finishing documenting my last year's harvest. There are only a few varieties left to be photographed.
...

Alice Sunshine - bush
View attachment 46677

such nice quality you get with your beans there!

 

[meadow]

Swedish Brown and Marfax are available in other places so probably not a risk of being lost for good. i may even have Swedish Brown here (but i can't currently verify that). the other i'm not familiar with at all. that one looks more rare...

I suspect Walcherse Bruine Kogel may be the same bean that experienced a massive crop failure in 2013 (google translate randomly converts the name to either Bullet Beans or Ball Beans):

"Last year a disaster threatened for the lover of a Walcheren delicacy.
No greengrocers had bullet beans on offer. The cause was a failed harvest of this exquisite brown bean variety. There seemed to be only one farmer who had successfully harvested a stock, but these beans were used for seed..."

 

[meadow]

@meadow
Save some just in case. Last year, I failed with three network beans. I have not planted all the seeds and will have a second chance this year.

That sounds like a good idea, thank you!

I noticed your Beefy Resilient Grex. Is it true that it has an "intense beef flavor"? I still have Carol Deppe's seed catalog from 2019. She describes Beefy Resilient Grex and how it came to be. I found it very interesting.

She is apparently working on several other lines with Beefy Resilient Grex genetics. One is said to be her "all-time favorite" and "tastes more like beef than beef does." (it is Beef-Bush Black Resilient, which is genetically 3/4 Gaucho and 1/4 Beefy Resilient). But maybe you are already aware of all this.

 

[flowerbug]

while i'm not against OSSI beans, i won't grow any here myself. some of the terms make it impossible for me to comply, since i grow open pollinated beans i can't be sure what crosses with what and so i wouldn't always know what was a derivative or not.

plus i have beans which look a lot like some of theirs too and i wouldn't want to confuse them.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Is it advised to plant only a portion of the Network beans? Perhaps as insurance against disaster? Or maybe plant a portion and then the rest a little bit later?

The way I'd plant the network beans was to put about half in one spot and about half in another, usually after the first group had sprouted, if they did. At least I'd know if I had to worry about them sprouting. That was in Arkansas and I was not worried about the length of the growing season. And I'd hold one or two beans back so I could compare them to what the original looked like.

 

[heirloomgal]

@meadow The beans are probably at their greatest vulnerability when very young, or freshly seeded. If you are going to lose a bean it is probably going to be in the initial phase. This is another reason why I did network bean transplants last year, I could sort of coddle them along until about 6 - 8 inches and then they were much more likely to make it. I kept back 2 - 3 beans just in case, but transplants are an excellent 'side' insurance. It won't save them from flooding, or hail, or major bad weather, but larger plants survive those challenges better than smaller ones.

 

[meadow]

while i'm not against OSSI beans, i won't grow any here myself. some of the terms make it impossible for me to comply, since i grow open pollinated beans i can't be sure what crosses with what and so i wouldn't always know what was a derivative or not.

plus i have beans which look a lot like some of theirs too and i wouldn't want to confuse them.

I'm glad that you mentioned that. Several of my favorite seed suppliers have OSSI seed. I've never traded seed before, and hadn't realized there could be any conflicts. Something to look into. Thanks!

 

[meadow]

The way I'd plant the network beans was to put about half in one spot and about half in another, usually after the first group had sprouted, if they did. At least I'd know if I had to worry about them sprouting. That was in Arkansas and I was not worried about the length of the growing season. And I'd hold one or two beans back so I could compare them to what the original looked like.

I don't think that would work for me this year, unless I were willing to plant the Network beans closer to each other (I'm keeping seed-saving beans 15-20 feet apart). I do have some mosquito netting, and also some little bags for placing over the flowers. hmmm... I'll have to give that some thought. 🤔