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

[heirloomgal]

We had torrential rain last night, it was heavy. I was almost going to water the main garden last evening for the 1st time this season and DH said hold off, rains were coming. It didn't seem like it, sky was blue and it was HOT. We swam at 8 at night to cool off, and low and behold it started to pour by 9. Found a casualty in 'Ekaterinaslav' this morning (rains activate those cutworms), one of the last beans that wasn't climbing yet so of course the cutworms targeted it. The razor slash they make is wild. Hit a marigold too, but only a branch, it'll keep growing. Sadly, one of the other Ekaterinaslav plants got that failing syndrome and looks like it'll perish. So - one plant left.

 

[ruralmamma]

@heirloomgal, fingers crossed for the last Ekaterinaslav plant.

 

[ruralmamma]

All bush dry beans except Rosey's Red are blooming. The Wren's Egg plants are looking great. Ukrainian Comrades was a mix of two different beans and I planted an equal amount of each together. I have two different bloom colors in that row, so safe to say they're doing okay. Bush snap beans Avalon and Pixie are both blooming with Avalon producing so many runners they're threatening to strangle the tomato plants nearby. Tennessee Cutshort has put on the greatest growth this week, being the first to reach the top of the trellis it's growing on, surpassing Nona Agnes. In the dry half-runners, Woodboogie is the first to flower, but also looks to be the most delicate when compared to Rio Zape and WB-PKT#45. Will try to grab more detailed notes concerning flower color in the coming days. It's been raining daily and we received 2.5" last night, so trying not to disturb the beans while the foliage is wet.

Ottis Stuart/Stewart is 4' high and blooming. Maybe a half - runner? It's growing with the other snap pole varieties and the first to bloom.

@Blue-Jay, I decided to grow the San Fiacre variation that had the skinny seeds and fat pods this year. It seems to have the same voracity as the original variety. Eager to see what it produces.

 

[heirloomgal]

Oh oh oh some good news today! We built a new raised bean bed in the front yard! It probably won't be only beans in there, but certainly lots. I didn't measure it, but it's large for a front yard. DH cut up the cedar logs from a tree felling a few years ago into 10 inch pieces and we lined out a rectangle shape with soft edges. Will post a photo tomorrow, didn't get a chance to take a picture today. It has to be filled with soil and the surrounding area needs to be seeded for grass because this is where some of the big trees we took down this spring were. Kids and I spent the day peeling!

I'd like to fill it asap as there is plenty of woody bits still in the compost mix we get, and it'd be nice to give it as much time as possible to break down further. I am so excited!! I really like the look of the upturned logs and if there is enough cedar left of a smaller diameter I'd actually like to edge the whole front yard garden with something similar. I plan to varathane the outside of the logs to try and preserve the golden color.

So - more beans!

 

[Blue-Jay]

@Blue-Jay, I decided to grow the San Fiacre variation that had the skinny seeds and fat pods this year. It seems to have the same voracity as the original variety. Eager to see what it produces.

San Fiarce here was the first pole bean to climb in the plot where other pole beans are growing. The beans in this particular plot were all direct seeded. SF was also the first of these beans to bloom. I'm growing only one poles worth ( 4 plants). I'm going to try a few pods as a snap bean when they get long enough. Yesterday we had a 1.2 inch rain. I think we needed it to keep the soil moisture up while beans are blooming and going to produce seed.

Where did you obtain SF.

 

[ruralmamma]

San Fiarce here was the first pole bean to climb in the plot where other pole beans are growing. The beans in this particular plot were all direct seeded. SF was also the first of these beans to bloom. I'm growing only one poles worth ( 4 plants). I'm going to try a few pods as a snap bean when they get long enough. Yesterday we had a 1.2 inch rain. I think we needed it to keep the soil moisture up while beans are blooming and going to produce seed.

Where did you obtain SF.

I obtained them through a USDA trial last year. Pods do get tough as they mature. When I sampled them last year the larger pods were woody but the very young ones were still tender.

 

[Blue-Jay]

I obtained them through a USDA trial last year. Pods do get tough as they mature. When I sampled them last year the larger pods were woody but the very young ones were still tender.

What is the longest you can harvest the pods and still have them tender?

 

[heirloomgal]

New bean bed photo, waiting for soil. DH nailed some old strips of siding inside to hold them all together, and prevent soil seeping through the cracks (which happens a little with my other log built raised bed). I didn't measure it yet, but I'm guessing it's 7 feet by about 10? Just a guess, and my estimation skills are poor. Feels big to me though. Cost - $0! All the sidewalk passerby's are so curious, many asking questions. It's sort of comical. Building vegetable beds in the front yard is not that common yet I suppose. DH keeps whispering to me to tell them it's going to be a skating rink. lol

 

[ruralmamma]

What is the longest you can harvest the pods and still have them tender?

I suspect they're best when the seeds are formed but relatively small. When i sampled them I didn't pick any that were overly large or had the appearance of being tough and still had some woody hulls. Hubby and I did pick the beans out of those hulls and they were delicious. That and the relatively flat shape of the pods led me to suspect they may be a romano? The only information I received with the seed was that it had come from the Ukraine. One other thing I failed to mention to you or @Neem5MI, is that the pods seem to have a papery husk similar to onion skin on the inside. Something I'd never encountered before but sure did make shelling the dry seed a bit messy

 

[flowerbug]

...One other thing I failed to mention to you or @Neem5MI, is that the pods seem to have a papery husk similar to onion skin on the inside. Something I'd never encountered before but sure did make shelling the dry seed a bit messy

yeah, those bits fly around on the merest thought of a breeze.