2022 Little Easy Bean Network - We Are Beans Without Borders

[jbosmith]

Ouch. When I think of bamboo (which I've used plenty of over the years) I think of only one thing. Slivers. Lots of slivers.

This stuff is new so it isn't bad. A few years ago I was obstinately trying to push a stake into stony ground, it shattered, and I ended up on my finger tips and tippy toes with a sharp edge point barely breaking the skin over my jugular. That was the point where I stopped using old stakes. My headstone would have read "At least he saved a dollar by reusing that stake for the fifth time"

My, my, my....13 C/55.4 F today combined with two days of rain, starting last night & ending tomorrow afternoon. Thankfully the rains are not heavy. I can only hope that the beans put in as seeds had already begun to germinate and so will weather this period better. Ugh, vagaries of weather like this are a giant pain in the rear. I don't know what is worse for them at this stage, blazing heat at 30C/86F or this. Both bad I think.

Good luck! A day or two of that weather probably won't cause too many problems. A week would be bad.

 

[flowerbug]

My, my, my....13 C/55.4 F today combined with two days of rain, starting last night & ending tomorrow afternoon. Thankfully the rains are not heavy. I can only hope that the beans put in as seeds had already begun to germinate and so will weather this period better. Ugh, vagaries of weather like this are a giant pain in the rear. I don't know what is worse for them at this stage, blazing heat at 30C/86F or this. Both bad I think.

i planted the other day not sure what the weather was going to be like. i watered them in to make sure they weren't just going to sit there waiting for the rains because i don't ever really know what rains will actually arrive.

i planted in wide rows with a nice trench between them so that if there are heavy rains the water has a place to go. they won't be sodden, but the clay will mean they'll be wet. in the past i've not had a problem with things not growing or germinating in this sort of wet spell, but it may look soggy until the plants get some more sunshine and perk up. i've had more problems from prolonged hot and wet in combination than cooler and wet.

it's hard for me not to worry at this stage but in the past it's never happened that i didn't get something to grow.

 

[BeanieQueen]

@BeanieQueen They look very much the same in size, though I think Rotebeerbohne I have is coloured differently. It looked to me like a base of lightish pink with an overlay of bluish/brownish dark coloured streaks. It was even more dramatic & gorgeous that I expected.

You have beans that are 12 weeks old? When does your season start, long ago?

I agree about descriptions of beans being fanciful. I ordered some 'Early Pinkies' from SSS last year and, once they matured, I thought where's the pink? I thought the seeds I was planting might have been older so I didn't judge the colour. They were like a rusty orange colour with burgundy streaks.

Have you grown Bamberger Blaue? Gosh, that is one of my favourite bush beans for wonderful colouring.

Oh, in general we have the middle Europeen average weather here. Spring often starts in March w/ daytime temp. of roughly 12 (to 20)°C but slight frost at night is still easily possible.
This year I started sowing on 15 March, but in germination dishes. After 5-8 days then in little pots (except Trebulino di Domenico, where my body developped roots itself meanwhile from waiting) and most of them I transplanted outdoors at the end of April.

Early Pinkies look pretty indeed! They seem not unlike African Premier. Hum, when they weren't pink - were they at least 'early' or even 'very early' as praised??

Bamberger Blaue I had last year. Yes, their colour is striking but I found them not THAT productive, but still alright. Maybe their place was not optimal.
Do you already have some? Or do you want some?

 

[Blue-Jay]

Just wanted you to know who ever grows the bean Rotebeerbohne. The English translation is Red Berry Bean. It is not Rootbeer bean.

 

[heirloomgal]

Oh, in general we have the middle Europeen average weather here. Spring often starts in March w/ daytime temp. of roughly 12 (to 20)°C but slight frost at night is still easily possible.
This year I started sowing on 15 March, but in germination dishes. After 5-8 days then in little pots (except Trebulino di Domenico, where my body developped roots itself meanwhile from waiting) and most of them I transplanted outdoors at the end of April.

Early Pinkies look pretty indeed! They seem not unlike African Premier. Hum, when they weren't pink - were they at least 'early' or even 'very early' as praised??

Bamberger Blaue I had last year. Yes, their colour is striking but I found them not THAT productive, but still alright. Maybe their place was not optimal.
Do you already have some? Or do you want some?

Yes, I think Early Pinkies qualify as early, and pretty productive too. I grew Bamberger Blaue last year too, and I agree it wasn't a hugely productive bean - but is was gorgeous! I grew them as a network bean and one of them had been crossed and it was a pole - that single pole produced about 4 times the amount that about 8-10 bush bean plants produced! It was a nice looking cross too; I was going to grow it this year but forgot.

 

[heirloomgal]

I am just so glad at how totally wrong the weather networks have been this year. The weather has consistently been much better than predicted.

Conversely, @flowerbug I have to hand it to you when it comes to groundhog knowledge. Everything you described about them & their habits has, as of today, come true.

Today as I was perusing my pea aisles, which run nearly perpendicular to the outside of the carport, out of the corner of my eye I saw dirt flying into the air. High in the air. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a huge hole under my carport, and beside a huge pile of sand and stones. I gasped when I saw that part of my row of 'Chinese Giant' peas were buried beneath this rubble. I could hear the hog making moving around noises in the hole. I ran for a board and a brick. I called Skedaddle services, currently waiting for a call. Hope they won't charge me an arm and a leg.

I tried to uncover my peas and alas several were killed by the stones that he was throwing out of the hole. Some were damaged but will probably survive. They're all covered in this layer of coarse sand for now.

Here is the grazing he did, the snack before the job I guess. Thankfully this will not really hurt anything and they can continue growing. I hope that we can get him out of there without doing anymore damage to my vegetables!

The good news is it did not rain as they said it would, so all the beans were fine and actually - all have sprouted! Very happy about that. And it is 19 today so it warmed right up. All is well on that front thank goodness.

 

[flowerbug]

... I called Skedaddle services, currently waiting for a call. Hope they won't charge me an arm and a leg.

View attachment 49374
View attachment 49375

I tried to uncover my peas and alas several were killed by the stones that he was throwing out of the hole. Some were damaged but will probably survive. They're all covered in this layer of coarse sand for now.
View attachment 49376

Here is the grazing he did, the snack before the job I guess. Thankfully this will not really hurt anything and they can continue growing. I hope that we can get him out of there without doing anymore damage to my vegetables!

i hope they're able to catch it! they sure are persistent!

 

[heirloomgal]

Got him!

DH came home from work and totally guffawed at the idea of a *service* so he shovelled away the gravel and sand, made a sliding door with the board and plunked a trap in front of the hole just big enough to match the size of the trap. I speed drove to get a fresh cantaloupe at the store to bait it, and by the time I got back he had already walked into the trap. Hooray! Much more pleasant outcome than last time.

My daughter & I drove for 40 minutes on the highway to a remote wilderness area. When I found a sign that said 'this road is not maintained between Oct.- April' I knew I was far enough. It was actually an incredibly beautiful spot, there were a lot of marshes with mallards leisurely paddling around - but the 'skitters were BAD. He jetted out of that trap faster than lightning. I threw him a pile of cantaloupe as a parting gift.

Phew. Hope that is all the critter adventures for the year. He peed in my car too.

 

[meadow]

@Bluejay77 That Ga Ga Hut is the most vigorous, robust bean I've ever grown! No wonder they produce so quickly... they don't waste any time at all; they're taking off like a rocket!

By the way, the Dutch Bullets have yet to arrive from the person in Oregon. I'm ready to start them as soon as they get here.

 

[Blue-Jay]

@Bluejay77 That Ga Ga Hut is the most vigorous, robust bean I've ever grown! No wonder they produce so quickly... they don't waste any time at all; they're taking off like a rocket!

By the way, the Dutch Bullets have yet to arrive from the person in Oregon. I'm ready to start them as soon as they get here.

You're Ga Ga Hut might even produce a second flush of pods and beans. When I grew it the vines had droped their leaves and quickly grew new ones. Then bloomed and the pods of the second flush grew very quickly. Before our frost in October I had harvest all the dry pods of the second flush.

I had probably sent my order to that person about a week ago. I don't know what takes some of these SSE member so long to get their seed request off in the mail. I have another seed request from someone in Colorado that I mailed back in late April. That one is still not here.