2025 Little Easy Bean Network - Growers Of The Future Will Be Glad We Saved

[ruralmamma]

It feels like that part of trick or treating when your bag is really starting to fill up and you're just itching to get home and dump it to see everything you've got!

Same here! I harvested my first Arlington Red Cranberry pod last evening and was so elated!

 

[heirloomgal]

Has anyone here grown the pole bean 'Fagiolo de la Bereta'? Also known as 'Bareta, de la B.' according to Belle Epoque Meisse. I'm growing it for the 2nd time and finding that again it doesn't seem like a super healthy variety, just not really vigorous and lush. I'm wondering if this is typical for this variety? It is a stunningly gorgeous bean and I wonder if it was selected toward that beauty at the cost of other things.

 

[SusanneinHastings]

Oxford, thank you for all the bean shoulder information! I am making my list now. Also for pointing out the Bretzelbohne is actually Vicia not phaseolus. But now I have an excuse perhaps to order it for the “soldiers garden” at the site.

Frost bean is drying surprisingly quickly! So I went Easter egg hunting too.

Some non-network beans coming ready too. The only one I have not seen so far is the Tarbais, unless I have somehow confused it with the Gigantes, because if is next to them. Also the Gigantes don’t seem as big as I remember from Greece, although of course there are different conditions here.
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It will be lots of fun to have these different eye-catching beans in the site kitchen next year. I am already making a list of network beans for next season, although we have a heat wave. It was going to be my week to start digging ew beds for them but I don’t feel like working outside!

 

[oxbow farm]

Oxford, thank you for all the bean shoulder information! I am making my list now. Also for pointing out the Bretzelbohne is actually Vicia not phaseolus. But now I have an excuse perhaps to order it for the “soldiers garden” at the site.

Frost bean is drying surprisingly quickly! So I went Easter egg hunting too\

They have the Pretzel Bean Cowpea at the Roughwood Seed Collection too.

 

[Artorius]

Has anyone here grown the pole bean 'Fagiolo de la Bereta'? Also known as 'Bareta, de la B.' according to Belle Epoque Meisse. I'm growing it for the 2nd time and finding that again it doesn't seem like a super healthy variety, just not really vigorous and lush. I'm wondering if this is typical for this variety? It is a stunningly gorgeous bean and I wonder if it was selected toward that beauty at the cost of other things.

@heirloomgal, I haven't grown Fagiolo de la Bareta yet, but I have seeds and will sow it next year. We'll see how it grows in my location.

 

[Decoy1]

Has anyone here grown the pole bean 'Fagiolo de la Bereta'? Also known as 'Bareta, de la B.' according to Belle Epoque Meisse. I'm growing it for the 2nd time and finding that again it doesn't seem like a super healthy variety, just not really vigorous and lush. I'm wondering if this is typical for this variety? It is a stunningly gorgeous bean and I wonder if it was selected toward that beauty at the cost of other things.

I grew it in 2021 so memory is a bit vague. The only note I have is that it was quite productive of good quality seed. I hope you get good seed/dried beans.

 

[colcol]

I am thinking this bean I grew simply named 'Mohawk Pole' is actually 'Kahnawake Mohawk'. Does it appear that to be the case?

 

[ruralmamma]

I've been shelling a few dried pods every morning in an effort to be prepared for the mad rush of pods that are ready for harvest. Of course that brings about a few questions.

So when you have two or more distinct seed variations, I assume the goal is to return those that resemble the original seed. From what I've gathered from here and from @Blue-Jay's site the offspring (?) would be referred to as having the original as a seed parent? What if those variations prohibit sending back the minimum sixty seeds? So far I have three varieties showing noticable differences and one variety has four. I planted 4-8 seeds of each variety.

Also have a question about growing the varieties that didn't produce a sufficient amount this year or produced variations from the original. Because of the wet spring I did either transplants or pre-sprouted seed for all Network varieties and saved at least half of them for backup. Next year should I plant the original seed separate from what I harvested if it appears true to type and shows no variations? If I chose to plant the variations to see if they stabilize, what kind of information should I keep track of other than the seed parent?

Sorry for the bombardment of questions. When things are a bit less hectic and I have the majority shelled, I'll post some pictures of the variations.

 

[heirloomgal]

Thank you @Decoy1 @Artorius , so it sounds like it did fairly well for you @Decoy1. I wouldn't describe my vines as terrible looking, but they aren't nearly as filled out or lush as pole beans typically get so I don't really know if anything is wrong or its just varietal. @Artorius if you think of it, when you grow it out I'd be curious to hear what you think of the growth. It's such an utterly gorgeous bean, it would be nice if it's capable of doing better than the line that I have.

 

[heirloomgal]

I've been shelling a few dried pods every morning in an effort to be prepared for the mad rush of pods that are ready for harvest. Of course that brings about a few questions.

So when you have two or more distinct seed variations, I assume the goal is to return those that resemble the original seed. From what I've gathered from here and from @Blue-Jay's site the offspring (?) would be referred to as having the original as a seed parent? What if those variations prohibit sending back the minimum sixty seeds? So far I have three varieties showing noticable differences and one variety has four. I planted 4-8 seeds of each variety.

Also have a question about growing the varieties that didn't produce a sufficient amount this year or produced variations from the original. Because of the wet spring I did either transplants or pre-sprouted seed for all Network varieties and saved at least half of them for backup. Next year should I plant the original seed separate from what I harvested if it appears true to type and shows no variations? If I chose to plant the variations to see if they stabilize, what kind of information should I keep track of other than the seed parent?

Sorry for the bombardment of questions. When things are a bit less hectic and I have the majority shelled, I'll post some pictures of the variations.

I know this much @ruralmamma , the seeds you send back should look like the original you planted (or what's on @Blue-Jay's website) and if there isn't enough of them because some crosses showed up, (this happened to me last year with Kruger's Speckled) we just plant the true to type seed again and send it the following year instead. Sometimes with bush beans I don't quite get to 60 very nice seeds so I re-plant the following year as well with those. Whatever varieties showed outcrossing, personally I would re-plant the seeds you saved in your own garden instead. But I would think that's more of a personal choice.