2023 Little Easy Bean Network - Beans Beyond The Colors Of A Rainbow

[flowerbug]

An update. As I was cleaning, I found one of the "Argentinian White" peanuts that had fallen & rolled under a shelf... so it had cured for awhile. Since I had a pliers right there (this peanut was hard) I cracked it open & ate them raw. Not bad! Much crunchier than roasted or boiled. More richly flavored too; roasting may develop some flavors, while baking out others. I like raw pecans, so I guess its not surprising that raw peanuts taste good to me too.

we used to buy raw peanuts for making peanut brittle and peanut butter cookies but have not done either of those in ages. so, yes of course i tried eating some of them raw. they were ok, but not a favorite, i like things toasted and even slightly burned so it isn't a surprise i'd prefer roasted peanuts over raw. i'd imagine like beans that each variety could have quite a different taste and texture.

raw pecans are much better but roasting them does take them up a few more notches for me.

 

[flowerbug]

this bothers me too Eleanor -
How close are the spacings I can get away with?
Which plants are most likely to cross?
and can I train bumbles etc to make the crosses I dream of?

well i've not had any specific luck in that regards but i have learned a few things in the past dozen years.

the harder the year the more bumblebee activity i will see in the beans. this year was probably the most active i've ever seen it with the bumblebees starting off slow and i was really worried but once the rains came back then it really took off and it was rather crazy out in the gardens. i'm expecting a lot of strange new out crosses next year from whatever i replant. i'd really like to see something different in all the Yellow Eye beans i've selected.

i planted some gardens very closely with my rows being 6 - 8 inches apart and multiple rows (two to three) in the same larger row so i was hoping the plants would help support each other and also help crowd out weeds better and also provide some cooling shade for each other (but i also wanted to use the space more efficiently because having a walking row between each row was taking up a lot of space). and then to make things even tighter in some rows i put Adzuki beans in with whatever other beans i was planting. the booger groundhog really found all those plants as too much temptation and feasted on a lot of those but it may have helped somewhat too as the regular bean plants did not get their foliage eaten nearly as much as i'd expect with a resident groundhog (it had a den it had dug right in one of my bean gardens inside our fenced area and i didn't know that was in there until some weeks later. oops...

interplanting, side by side rows, as many opportunities for the bees to do their crossing trick for me because i could not do it myself (i shake too much and i can't really see at that specific range clearly enough either). several hundreds plants of each type and hope that when you do your seed selecting for the next plantings that you happen to get some of those seeds set aside. the higher percentage of your plants you get seeds selected from and then replanted the more likely you'd be to get those crosses. i've done moderately well but i have not yet specifically made sure that each and every plant gets a seed sample taken for further planting - i'd need to do that for thousands of plants. in some gardens i should really make the effort though as they are smaller and more focused.

so what i lack for in full coverage i make up for in keeping at it year after year and finally i do get some results, but they may not be exactly what i'm after so i need to then keep going. Purple Dove took me three years to see the first out cross, four years to get several. now i have those seeds to work with on top of all the other projects... now i need acreage and minions. i also happened to get my first Painted Pony and Peregion selection out cross this year (that i know of ). i've had plenty of other Painted Pony out crosses show up and some of them are really interesting but none have been edible pods before so it will be fun to see how this goes along this coming season - no idea if it will be stable or not (if it isn't and it is as unstable as Monster, well, i'm scrod )...

as it turned out we had a major invasion beyond the groundhog, we also had tons of grass seed that had gotten blown into all of the gardens and the existing population of purslane also wanted to sprout like mad in any garden. i had to do a large amount of extra weeding that i normally didn't have to do before this past year and it seemed i was always behind the whole time even more than usual. it was ok, most of it did get done before seeds were dropping but i sure did not get as much Japanese Beetle picking as i've done some other years and i didn't get as much chance to really look at some gardens very closely for noticing which plants were nicer and i could tag them for seed selections.

ok, but back to interplanting and spacing. if you do interplant try to put plants together that finish about the same time and keep an eye out for any plants that give up early because those will be your most likely problems later for white mold (this would apply also to patches where you've closely planted a lot of the same variety too as some do just give up).

 

[Branching Out]

back to interplanting and spacing. if you do interplant try to put plants together that finish about the same time and keep an eye out for any plants that give up early because those will be your most likely problems later for white mold (this would apply also to patches where you've closely planted a lot of the same variety too as some do just give up).

When you refer to plants that 'give up early', is it because the plant material from those beans gets left lying in the patch, and will be the first to show signs of molding since they will be on the ground and starting to decompose?

 

[flowerbug]

When you refer to plants that 'give up early', is it because the plant material from those beans gets left lying in the patch, and will be the first to show signs of molding since they will be on the ground and starting to decompose?

some plants die because they get crowded out by other plants and then you have that standing dead material underneath other plants and perhaps touching them. if left there long enough in our conditions that is often a good chance it will start molding and get white mold which will attack any living plants it touches. i think it is actually a self-regulating disease in that once the mold kills off enough of the surrounding plants it opens up the area to more light and air which then prohibits the mold.

of course it is best if i catch it early before it damages any surrounding plants at all but when you have a lot of gardens i don't always get a chance to inspect each plant or row that often.

to me it is interesting that it does not show up on all plants or in all gardens.

 

[Paul G]

Diamont - Pole Dry. I grew again this year. I got from a grower in Austria that I've got a few other beans from. Last year I harvested 11 ounces (311 grams). Thought I was maybe going to do better with this year but not a chance another struggling bean at 3 ounces (85 grams)

Viola Di Assiago - Pole Dry. This one I get so many requests that I send out all but what I keep for growing a new crop again. This year was better than last year 1.5 pounds (680 grams). I had a couple of winners.

View attachment 62041View attachment 62042
Diamont - Pole Dry.............................................................................Viola Di Assiago - Pole Dry

Hi Russ, my beans are ready, can you please check your messages I sent you details (photos and yields) there. Sorry or interrupting your conversation.
Take care
Paul

 

[heirloomgal]

The tiny hiccup with the labels set me back a day, but everything is packed up, sealed and ready to be shipped @Bluejay77. I also packed up a second box, mostly containing packets from the bonus beans you sent with the network beans. I will mail the second wrapped box a week after I mail the first.

Thank you so much @Bluejay77 for such a great opportunity to expand my bean collection. 🫶 I have gotten so many great new beans from you! When I was packing them up I got to swoon over them more closely than I have yet. Those Stephano D'Aventi Borlotti beans were so HUGE that the '50' barely fit inside the packet! The Dead Man's Tooth were surprisingly large too for a kidney type. I'm quite pleased with how all the beans turned out. Between the azomite, the kelp meal, the greensand, wood ash and the electric fertilizer I think I'm finally hitting my stride with growing beans.

I contacted Mr. Dirix in Belgium and put in my first seed request! Pretty excited about that. He was very kind. I don't have a paypal account so he let me pay in CAD and mail it. I hope it arrives in Europe safely. 🤞 And I put an order in with Mandy's Greenhouse too which will soon be here. Poroto Huancabamba, Piet’s Special, Oja de Cabra will be fun ones to try. All I need to buy now is more land so I can grow it all. Or start guerilla gardening in the neighbours backyard.

 

[Beanmad Nanna]

well i've not had any specific luck in that regards but i have learned a few things in the past dozen years.

the harder the year the more bumblebee activity i will see in the beans. this year was probably the most active i've ever seen it with the bumblebees starting off slow and i was really worried but once the rains came back then it really took off and it was rather crazy out in the gardens. i'm expecting a lot of strange new out crosses next year from whatever i replant. i'd really like to see something different in all the Yellow Eye beans i've selected.

i planted some gardens very closely with my rows being 6 - 8 inches apart and multiple rows (two to three) in the same larger row so i was hoping the plants would help support each other and also help crowd out weeds better and also provide some cooling shade for each other (but i also wanted to use the space more efficiently because having a walking row between each row was taking up a lot of space). and then to make things even tighter in some rows i put Adzuki beans in with whatever other beans i was planting. the booger groundhog really found all those plants as too much temptation and feasted on a lot of those but it may have helped somewhat too as the regular bean plants did not get their foliage eaten nearly as much as i'd expect with a resident groundhog (it had a den it had dug right in one of my bean gardens inside our fenced area and i didn't know that was in there until some weeks later. oops...

interplanting, side by side rows, as many opportunities for the bees to do their crossing trick for me because i could not do it myself (i shake too much and i can't really see at that specific range clearly enough either). several hundreds plants of each type and hope that when you do your seed selecting for the next plantings that you happen to get some of those seeds set aside. the higher percentage of your plants you get seeds selected from and then replanted the more likely you'd be to get those crosses. i've done moderately well but i have not yet specifically made sure that each and every plant gets a seed sample taken for further planting - i'd need to do that for thousands of plants. in some gardens i should really make the effort though as they are smaller and more focused.

so what i lack for in full coverage i make up for in keeping at it year after year and finally i do get some results, but they may not be exactly what i'm after so i need to then keep going. Purple Dove took me three years to see the first out cross, four years to get several. now i have those seeds to work with on top of all the other projects... now i need acreage and minions. i also happened to get my first Painted Pony and Peregion selection out cross this year (that i know of ). i've had plenty of other Painted Pony out crosses show up and some of them are really interesting but none have been edible pods before so it will be fun to see how this goes along this coming season - no idea if it will be stable or not (if it isn't and it is as unstable as Monster, well, i'm scrod )...

as it turned out we had a major invasion beyond the groundhog, we also had tons of grass seed that had gotten blown into all of the gardens and the existing population of purslane also wanted to sprout like mad in any garden. i had to do a large amount of extra weeding that i normally didn't have to do before this past year and it seemed i was always behind the whole time even more than usual. it was ok, most of it did get done before seeds were dropping but i sure did not get as much Japanese Beetle picking as i've done some other years and i didn't get as much chance to really look at some gardens very closely for noticing which plants were nicer and i could tag them for seed selections.

ok, but back to interplanting and spacing. if you do interplant try to put plants together that finish about the same time and keep an eye out for any plants that give up early because those will be your most likely problems later for white mold (this would apply also to patches where you've closely planted a lot of the same variety too as some do just give up).

thanks for the detail.
I have tended to plant tall beans on tripods or most usually A-shaped double lines. I interplant with lettuce, & other saladings sometimes leeks, sometimes brassicas that can take over later, and make use of the nitrogen. In my present garden plot ( the bigger area) it still needs adding to as its poor sandy soil where un-tended. I am wanting to break into other plots there- so have work cut out for the winter, clearing and preparing some fencing ( I hope) . It is a good idea to match plants for ending time - I will try to factor that in. Thanks

We have moles which did for my best beans last year - they didn't appreciate the constant draft around their roots. At least it shows whatever we have done to amend the soil, there are plenty enough worms for it to be inviting for the moles. I think I am going to have to plant some spurge again - to see if we can ward them off a little.

Stabilising the out -crosses sounds like fun. And I take my straw hat to all you serious beanie breeders!

 

[Beanmad Nanna]

The tiny hiccup with the labels set me back a day, but everything is packed up, sealed and ready to be shipped @Bluejay77. I also packed up a second box, mostly containing packets from the bonus beans you sent with the network beans. I will mail the second wrapped box a week after I mail the first.

Thank you so much @Bluejay77 for such a great opportunity to expand my bean collection. 🫶 I have gotten so many great new beans from you! When I was packing them up I got to swoon over them more closely than I have yet. Those Stephano D'Aventi Borlotti beans were so HUGE that the '50' barely fit inside the packet! The Dead Man's Tooth were surprisingly large too for a kidney type. I'm quite pleased with how all the beans turned out. Between the azomite, the kelp meal, the greensand, wood ash and the electric fertilizer I think I'm finally hitting my stride with growing beans.

I contacted Mr. Dirix in Belgium and put in my first seed request! Pretty excited about that. He was very kind. I don't have a paypal account so he let me pay in CAD and mail it. I hope it arrives in Europe safely. 🤞 And I put an order in with Mandy's Greenhouse too which will soon be here. Poroto Huancabamba, Piet’s Special, Oja de Cabra will be fun ones to try. All I need to buy now is more land so I can grow it all. Or start guerilla gardening in the neighbours backyard.

Aha that is so exciting delivery and anticipation of treats to come! I have today at last got my head around my selection from Guy Dirix. And I'm waiting for orders to arrive from a couple of mainland seed houses too, my British ones arrived within a couple of days (really quickly). I truly have run away with myself in order to select a greater range to make direct comparisons. Many I have been looking in at the sweetie shop (face stuck hard to the window). Oh the anticipation...

You must feel so pleased with those beans- the photos have seemed really clean and healthy.
Which leads to ... electric fertilizer ? Are you using antennae and have you got a control bed where you are not using them for comparison? It is something I have been meaning to do more of

 

[heirloomgal]

Aha that is so exciting delivery and anticipation of treats to come! I have today at last got my head around my selection from Guy Dirix. And I'm waiting for orders to arrive from a couple of mainland seed houses too, my British ones arrived within a couple of days (really quickly). I truly have run away with myself in order to select a greater range to make direct comparisons. Many I have been looking in at the sweetie shop (face stuck hard to the window). Oh the anticipation...

You must feel so pleased with those beans- the photos have seemed really clean and healthy.
Which leads to ... electric fertilizer ? Are you using antennae and have you got a control bed where you are not using them for comparison? It is something I have been meaning to do more of

Yes, I had one control area and I also had a patch of corn half in & half out from an antannae range so I could gauge it that way in one other bed. I was actually pretty blown away by the results in fertility, and equally so the slugs and cutworm evaporation. I used 1 antennae per 30 foot diameter. The control area was a bust, at least in 2023.

 

[heirloomgal]

I have today at last got my head around my selection from Guy Dirix.

There were some pretty gorgeous beans on that 2024 list!