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

[heirloomgal]

Yikes is it cold. With a turtleneck and a hoodie I'm still cold out there, it was 13C/55F today. Miserable. But it's going to warm up again. Looks like lots of places are having a cold spell too. Can't wait for this to be over!!!! I admit though, it's a nice break from watering!

Some beans are doling out joy by drying down for me.

This is 'Babuschka'. Turned out to be a semi-runner and a short one at that. But it is early to be this dry and it had sunchokes for a neighbour so that it even survived is somewhat of a miracle. I can only guess it must come from Russia, but cannot turn up any information about it anywhere.

So @Blue-Jay this is my second attempt at Volga German Siberian, a 2024 network bean. I've always thought that this was a pole, but it has grown as a very short semi-runner for me for the second year. I looked around and some describe it as a sprawling bush, others a short semi-runner? Despite my growing only 3 plants (thinking it was a pole) I still managed a harvest as the plants are now drying down. It is early and very pretty, just not tall! lol

Growing 'Hastings' for a second time, mostly cause I'm just all in love with these Appalachian beans lately. Such a great variety. I truly love semi-runner beans. It has been rainy so I'm trying to keep the halfway dry beans off the plants just in case they absorb more water than they should and problems arrive.

This 2025 network bean is getting close, for an African bean I'd say this is pretty early maturity for being direct seeded as it was. These tags are the BEST. They look exactly the same as the day I put them in at planting. I can never go back! And many tags had hot sun on them all summer, it was a scorching season. And still they look perfect.

Slavonski Zeleni is also looking like it's winding down. The pods are full with swelling beans. The leaves are still looking pretty good, so I don't think these plants had mosaic afterall. They did seem a little speckled in coloring but it doesn't appear to have been anything serious.

 

[Artorius]

I have the same experience.

When I mow the lawn, I dry the grass and use it as mulch around the bean plants. In addition, I keep annual flowers such as poppies, borage, etc. This prevents weeds from growing (and redirects the bumblebees to the flowers). This way, I can leave the plants (and their roots) undisturbed.

The mulch also keeps moisture in the soil and it dries out less.

@Oxford
This year I also started mulching the soil around the beans with grass clippings to avoid damaging the roots when pulling out weeds.

It's only 5 C (41 F) here this morning. It hasn't been this cold at this time of year for a long time. I just found the first dry pods on my bush beans yesterday. I'm almost a month behind schedule due to a very cold spring. I really have to work hard to maintain a bit of optimism.

 

[Decoy1]

Off the top of my head, let's see, Fat Man, Nickell, Juanita Smith, Granny, Ruth Bible, Ranger, Rattlesnake, Old Joe Clark, State 1/2 Runner (this year, so early!) Mountaineer, Frank Barnett, Red Eye Greasy (this years bean) is quite early too. Hastings is another good one. There's probably others and I've forgotten, but it has been shocking not only how early they are but how huge the yields are. Some of the best beans I've grown. That said, I've hit a few like Pink Tip Greasy which I'm growing this year - I can see it's quite late. So that one is not a good fit for the northern locales. But the Grady Bailey Greasy, also this year, looks like it'll make it in good time. I grew Old Time Golden Stick too, you might have just had an off year with it because it produced pretty good here and super early too, and I'm still a ways north of your location. If you ever want to do a trade in some Appalachians, send me a DM. I'm growing Brown Eyed Bobby, and it's almost dry right now. Anyone know if that is an Appalachian bean? Sort of sounds like it to me, but it's a bush, so maybe not.

Out of your list, there are several I haven’t grown but a couple stood out. One was Old Joe Clark which I’ve also found particularly early and high yielding. But I have a different experience of Fat Man. I’m growing it this season - thank you! - and it’s only in flower now. I was thinking of it as late but perhaps it’s a peculiarity of this year. I think my season is a little longer than yours so I haven’t quite given up hope of seed but it’s a close run thing.

 

[Oxford]

It's only 5 C (41 F) here this morning. It hasn't been this cold at this time of year for a long time. I just found the first dry pods on my bush beans yesterday. I'm almost a month behind schedule due to a very cold spring. I really have to work hard to maintain a bit of optimism.

Luckily, it was never below 10 C (50 F) so far this summer - I am 500 meters / 1650 ft. above sea level.

But because of the nearly four weeks of cold and very rainy weather in July, my beans are also delayed by about three weeks. The last ones have now also very small pods, and I still hope that I can get at least a handful of seeds.

There is especially one bean where a few seeds dated 2011 have been given to me this late spring with the request if I could eventually still propagate them. From six beans only one grew and I only have three small pods until now. I have it under the porch roof on the southeast side of my house.
It was given to me as "Feijão Grande" - which means large bean in Portuguese - and is originally from the Algarve, South of Portugal. It seems to be a late one and probably a dry bean. I really hope to get some seeds.