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

[Blue-Jay]

Oxford ! Yes I have to also add your photos are real beauties and yes calender worthy. Glad you found us and any other new bean enthusiasts that have come onboard in the last few months. Welcome to all of you.

 

[heirloomgal]

Runner beans are really running! I wonder where they'll go when they get to the top and it's only crossbars? Will they just fall on top? Weave through? I guess I'll find out! If they aren't happy with the trellis as is I might lay some wire mesh across the roof for next year. I hope this works though!!

'Elektra' bush beans!

Old Joe Clark!

I think BEB it'll make it!

Wendy's Late Brother in Law's Bean

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have live traps but I know he'll never go in, rabbits are too cautious.

I've caught rabbits in live traps. Not using bait but giving them a safe place to go. I made a cover so the only opening is from the front. It looks like a dark hole so they think it is a good place to hide. Try setting a trap in his trail or against a fence where he is getting in the garden.

My bean garden rabbit story is one year I had a rabbit eating beans just as they sprouted. Rabbits had unrestricted access to that garden. I permanently removed 16 rabbits before those beans stopped being eaten off. Most of the rabbits were not bothering them but at least one was. Every one of those 16 rabbits were physically in the garden, not just in the area. I shot most of them but did catch a few in live traps.

 

[heirloomgal]

I've caught rabbits in live traps. Not using bait but giving them a safe place to go. I made a cover so the only opening is from the front. It looks like a dark hole so they think it is a good place to hide. Try setting a trap in his trail or against a fence where he is getting in the garden.

My bean garden rabbit story is one year I had a rabbit eating beans just as they sprouted. Rabbits had unrestricted access to that garden. I permanently removed 16 rabbits before those beans stopped being eaten off. Most of the rabbits were not bothering them but at least one was. Every one of those 16 rabbits were physically in the garden, not just in the area. I shot most of them but did catch a few in live traps.

This is good to know @Ridgerunner, thanks for sharing this. I may have arrived at that conclusion prematurely. Last year, early in the season, I had a rabbit nibbling stuff and had a couple traps set out for a few weeks with every tempting item of food I could think, and covered the largest cage with a blanket to try and make it a hidey hole. And he just would not go in, but that may have been that one particular rabbit only. I may not have set the trap up to be as good as I could have to look like a place to hide in.

 

[ruralmamma]

This in the one extended weekend of the year when I actually work with hubby, so made my first trek to the gardens since Wednesday. Looks as if the first pole snap bean to harvest will be Blue Tip. The first bush dry bean will probably be Ukrainian Comrades followed by Wren's Egg. Dry pole beans are mostly flowering but few pods yet. The forecast predicts no rain for a week but thankfully I captured as much rainwater as I could a few weeks ago.

 

[flowerbug]

@heirloomgal i've also had a bunny being a rather persistent problem even in the fenced gardens. i blame most of it on myself of course since i had let the weeds get thick and that provided a lot of cover and food for the creatures and now i think it has decided that is its home turf. now though i have finished weeding and will be going back through again soon to make sure there are no burrows being developed. like i really need that sort of colonization in there!...

 

[heirloomgal]

Well...I hesitate to even say it and jinx myself.... but I think since my last impromptu fencing job with various pieces of fencing wire I had around I think I may have finally gotten the rabbit to move off. Hard to say for sure, but I haven't seen signs of him since he ate the Helios bean plant leaves. Of course, I've fenced him off better so he might just not leaving me bitten plants because he can't get to them. It's been about 5 days.

But---I'm hopeful.

Gardening since 2008, almost never had a problem with rabbits or groundhogs. And then in the last 3 years, I suddenly did. Just the way it goes I guess.

 

[flowerbug]

...
Gardening since 2008, almost never had a problem with rabbits or groundhogs. And then in the last 3 years, I suddenly did. Just the way it goes I guess.

the expression goes: "If you build it they will come." i would change that to: "If you build it without a good fence they will come."

 

[ruralmamma]

I have field bindweed/wild morning glory along the outside of my garden fence. It got a head start because of all the rain we had but then I noticed the rabbits chowing down on it and just left it. I figured if they liked eating it then maybe they'd settle for that instead of trying to find a way through the fence. Actually I think it was the baby rabbits that chewed my beans last year but haven't seen any yet this year.

 

[Blue-Jay]

2025 Network Bean Returns​

I'm going to ask every one who are growing Network beans this year and who reads this thread. Not to return your beans until after January 1, 2026.

I will be leaving Illinois In late October and will be gone to Florida for November and half of December.

I will probably post this a number of times as this will get burried in newer posts over time.