2022 Little Easy Bean Network - We Are Beans Without Borders

[Blue-Jay]

Would you consider either of those beans to be prolific?

I wouldn't consider either of these varieties prolific, but I would rate them as very productive.

 

[BeanGrower02]

Hi, I'm looking for multiple blue colored bean varieties. If anyone has Sacre bleu, September blue, or any other blue bean, please message me I would like to trade some seeds. I am mostly looking for Sacre Bleu at the moment but any blue bean is fine.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Well, you remember your actors, I'll remember mine. If I could name a pair of swallowtail caterpillars Alphonse and Gaston (due to their habit of always trying to get out of each other's way) or a stuffed donkey doll Hote (accent on the e) you have some idea of my idea of humor (or my idea of opening a bead shop and calling it either The Venerable Bead or And the Bead Goes On. And of course my Al fresco Chinese Noodle Shop, Fun in the Sun (the only reason I dropped the idea for a bun shop called The Bao Haus is someone beat me to it. Still could try and find a partner named Hu, get him someone on 1st avenue in NYC and call it Hu's on First).

Of course, there are the ones that already exist like Wok around the Clock (Australia, 24 hour Chinese Chain) Wok and Roll (two different chains in NYC one with an "and" and one with an ampersand.) Thai Me Kangaroo Down, Sport (Australia again, of course) Thai-phoon, Thai One On (BIG bar there). Wok Like a Man, The Wasabi Lobby (Japanese, NYC again) and so on.

 

[meadow]

I wouldn't consider either of these varieties prolific, but I would rate them as very productive.

Thank you!!

 

[flowerbug]

@heirloomgal Eight Monstrance plants yielded 350 grams / 530 seeds last season. Quite poor.

sounds pretty good to me. some plants i'm happy if i get any seeds back let alone enough extra for eating. i'm guessing this is a pole bean plant variety?

 

[flowerbug]

today started with a little rain so i didn't plan on getting out early to do any picking, instead i was working on shelling and sorting and re-arranging my stacks of box flats trying to consolidate and find where i'd stacked a few samples i'd taken earlier. labels in almost everything. sure makes life easier.

after i'd finished that up and some shelling and further sorting i got out to start picking a large patch of mainly Purple Dove beans that has some other beans mixed in there too, but for the most part the PD dominates most other beans i grow. in an hour i picked two box tops full and that was enough for me for now. i may get out later for a few more - we'll see. i hope i can get the rest of it picked through tomorrow as there are chances of rain forecasts for tomorrow evening and through the day on Wednesday. no matter what it will get done... also probably have to mow tomorrow.

 

[flowerbug]

some pods are pretty difficult to remove when fully dry. one trick that sometimes works is to shell the beans before the pods are fully dried or when the beans are fully formed and plumped up but before the pod has started to shrinkwrap the beans. Venda is a booger of a bean to shell once it's dried down...

some of my cross breeding and selection efforts for bean varities is to get easier to shell out beans or to have the pods not as large (as i consider that a waste of energy for the plant to develop that much fibers).

i have selections of Yellow Eye that i'm working on and i'm always trying to get Purple Dove to cross with anything i grow because i love how thin those pods are when they're dried and so easy to shell.

one bean that i've used for a lot of development is Red Ryder because of the traits i like for it among which is easy to shell beans and also easy to shell when still plump in the shell along with the fact that it is a very productive bean and an early bean.

i have a lot of influences from them now in several other beans (one named Huey).

and of course fun to find new crosses showing up. i'm hoping one i found last night in the Purple Dove seeds i was shelling out will work out. nice pattern and unique. only six seeds so far so not sure it will have a chance yet, but i have to get a picture of them. too much to do lately to do much picture taking...

 

[heirloomgal]

@heirloomgal Eight Monstrance plants yielded 350 grams / 530 seeds last season. Quite poor.

Thank you for the feedback @Triffid. I'm glad to know it's varietal, and not being caused by something I'm doing. Too bad though, it is such a lovely bean with a great story.

@Bluejay77 I think you are onto something with your light reflection thoughts, my house has a light beige wall and things i grow on it have always seemed more vigorous. Wish that space was bigger to capture it's effect on more plants! It probably has a warmth influence on the plants at night too in early summer.

@flowerbug When you shell your bean pods prior to being crackle level dry, do you feel there is ever an effect on the seeds? I'm always so cautious about waiting for pods to be bone dry. Yes, Holy beans are a pole variety.

 

[heirloomgal]

Hi, I'm looking for multiple blue colored bean varieties. If anyone has Sacre bleu, September blue, or any other blue bean, please message me I would like to trade some seeds. I am mostly looking for Sacre Bleu at the moment but any blue bean is fine.

Meerbarbe is another great blue bean.

 

[flowerbug]

@flowerbug When you shell your bean pods prior to being crackle level dry, do you feel there is ever an effect on the seeds? I'm always so cautious about waiting for pods to be bone dry. Yes, Holy beans are a pole variety.

thanks!

no problem i've ever found from shelling and drying as long as they are rotated once in a while. what i do is just switch box flats so that the one that the beans have been on for a while can dry out again completely. after a few days they are ok to leave more alone and not have to switch the flats out.

it is actually easier for me to shell out Yellow Eye beans at the wiggly stage than to wait for them to dry all the way down. that is, when i'm doing it one pod at a time. if i'm really in a hurry (i'm not that often) or have such large amounts then i can go with the pillow case version where i put them in the pillow case and step on them with my feet (bare feet and gently enough that i'm not smashing them to bits) and that has worked ok, but i'm so rarely working with such large amounts that i want to do that kind of thing to them.