2026 Little Easy Bean Network – Plant A Garden, Water Your Soul, Join Our Family

[Blue-Jay]

Russ's 2025 Big Bean Show Day 15
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Cherry Trout - Bush Dry. This bean struggled during the summer of 2025. It also didn't like the weather and possibly the soil too. I got enough seed to plant again. This is an original bean of mine from the early 1980's. It is in the Seed Saver's Exhange bean collection and I also donated this bean to the USDA seed bank in Pullman, Washington.

Chester Gold - Pole Dry. This was discovered in the garden of Renate During of Schweiburg, Niederschsen, Germany as a mutation of Skunk. Renate and I did a little bean trade about late 2024 or early 2025. I grew these this past summer of 2025. I got enough good seed to try again and still have some of the orignal seed Renate sent to me. I have no doubt they are very productive like Skunk. They will be grown out in a different location this coming summer. A very pretty bean.


Cherry Trout - Bush Dry...........................................Chester Gold - Pole Dry

 

[Dahlia]

Russ's 2025 Big Bean Show Day 15
​

Cherry Trout - Bush Dry. This bean struggled during the summer of 2025. It also didn't like the weather and possibly the soil too. I got enough seed to plant again. This is an original bean of mine from the early 1980's. It is in the Seed Saver's Exhange bean collection and I also donated this bean to the USDA seed bank in Pullman, Washington.

Chester Gold - Pole Dry. This was discovered in the garden of Renate During of Schweiburg, Niederschsen, Germany as a mutation of Skunk. Renate and I did a little bean trade about late 2024 or early 2025. I grew these this past summer of 2025. I got enough good seed to try again and still have some of the orignal seed Renate sent to me. I have no doubt they are very productive like Skunk. They will be grown out in a different location this coming summer. A very pretty bean.

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Cherry Trout - Bush Dry...........................................Chester Gold - Pole Dry

Pretty beans! I love all of the bean names! I never knew how many different kinds of beans existed until I joined this forum years back!

 

[Michael Lusk]

Yes it is but I still consider this an original bean of mine. This bean is about 10 generations removed from any of the last saved beans that Robert collected in his grow outs. Ron Thuma was next to get a hold of those last Lobitz beans and grew them out for 5 generations. Robert never saw this bean. The beans that Robert got from Dan Jason at Salt Spring seeds and grew out until stable and then named them. Are they Robert Lobitz or Dan Jason originals. Is Fiesta that came out of Candy at Annapolis seeds. Is that their original or mine. What is your take on this I'm curious to know. Am I doing something wrong or against the memory of Robert Lobitz.

This is such an interesting line of thought with seeds! It's so easy with animals; we all consider one generation distinctly different than its predecessor. With seeds, one seed can carry on indefinitely while the descendants can become something (many somethings) different entirely. I'm reading the new Michael Pollan book about consciousness and there's a chapter where he discusses the consciousness of plants - hence weighty matters are kicking around my head along with, of course, thoughts of seeds.

 

[ruralmamma]

I've been optimistically holding off on requesting any Network beans for 2026 but it's likely I'll just concentrate on the varieties that didn't produce well enough to return seed this season. I also had a few varieties shared by friends on this forum that I wasn't able to plant last year and some varieties obtained locally that I want to grow as well. Some of these are network varieties as well and will definitely share if I have a successful harvest.

My husband was quite ill during the fall but is doing much better. I am having issues with previous knee and ankle injuries and while I'm hoping to be more mobile in the months ahead, I currently use a walking stick to navigate the yard and gardens. Doing lots of strength-building exercises and fully plan to garden this year. However I move much slower and am homeschooling our daughter, so days of working daylight to dark will be few and far between.

I usually have trays of plants started by this time but have yet to sow a single seed. Hoping to get back on track soon and am planning on attending a local seed swap with a neighbor over the weekend if weather permits. Lots of beds to clear off and lots of ideas to implement

I'll still be around and will post bean photos, but concentrating on adapt and overcome.

And I spy some bean show posts!

 

[Blue-Jay]

Russ's 2025 Big Bean Show Day 16​

Chickasaw - Semi Runner Dry. I discovered this bean in a Sulphur bean which was a bush. I still think I can see a slight yellowishness to the tan base color of some of it's seeds that it inherited from the Sulphur bean. This bean grew close to a row of Zinnias so it probably affected it's productivity which is usually good. Productivity was way down this past summer.

Climbing French - Pole Dry. Once one of the most grown beans in the Uk. It was very productive this past summer. One of the top producing beans in 2025 and nice quality beans at the same time. This bean was sent to me by @Decoy1 in 2024 or maybe early 2025.


Chickasaw - Semi Runner Dry........................Climbing French - Pole Dry.

 

[Heliena]

Russ's 2025 Big Bean Show Day 16​

Chickasaw - Semi Runner Dry. I discovered this bean in a Sulphur bean which was a bush. I still think I can see a slight yellowishness to the tan base color of some of it's seeds that it inherited from the Sulphur bean. This bean grew close to a row of Zinnias so it probably affected it's productivity which is usually good. Productivity was way down this past summer.

Climbing French - Pole Dry. Once one of the most grown beans in the Uk. It was very productive this past summer. One of the top producing beans in 2025 and nice quality beans at the same time. This bean was sent to me by @Decoy1 in 2024 or maybe early 2025.

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Chickasaw - Semi Runner Dry........................Climbing French - Pole Dry.

I’ve seen you mention the Zinnias a few times, do you find that the beans planted along the Zinnias do better overall? I’ve grown beans for all of my gardening years but have shifted my study to planting a supportive garden around my food garden recently. Flower gardens and the finer details about how they affect the success of the food garden are newer adventures for me.

 

[Blue-Jay]

I’ve seen you mention the Zinnias a few times, do you find that the beans planted along the Zinnias do better overall?

I've never noticed if the Zinnias caused the beans to produce better. I had 4 rows of semi runners last summer and one row of beans was the closest to the row of Zinnias and on the shadow side of the Zinnias. The entire row of beans didn't produce as well as the other three rows. However just beyond the Zinnias about another 12 feet were some Mulberry trees. The effect of lower bean production from the row of beans might actually have been from the trees.


.

 

[Triffid]

@Heliena I love zinnias and wouldn't have a garden without them. That said, having planted them in every spare nook and cranny, I've learned the hard way that in good soil they will entirely dominate their neighbours. I'd recommend at least 2ft of space between a row of zinnias and anything else.
On flowers, another one to watch out for is leucanthemum which appears to have strong allelopathy and stunts everything within a 2ft rootzone radius, even young fruit trees and rhubarb. Far worse than zinnias, whose main fault appears to be growing too vigourously for others nearby to keep up.
Calendula are often interplanted with vegetables but can take over a fertile bed if you aren't on top of deadheading. I've read sunflowers can also stunt neighbouring plants, but having only grown dwarf-med sunflowers with other flowers I haven't experienced this.

These are all loved by pest predators and pollinators so very welcome in the edible garden, but there are some pitfalls. I guess a rule of thumb is to beware of planting the aster family near the less robust!

 

[Blue-Jay]

Russ's 2025 Big Bean Show Day 17​

Cold Creek - Bush Dry - This bean was a segregation of it's seed mother in 2019 which I was also calling Cold Creek. Grew it again in '20,21,25. By 2021 I seemed to be stable so I decided to use the seed mothers name for this bean. Not a lot of seed this past summer but it was of good quality. The beans seed coat doesn't seem to be dependent on soil or weather. It just keeps looking the same where ever I grow it.

Coral - Pole Dry. This bean is a second segregation of a Will Bonall packet of crosses he sent to me in 2015. This bean showed up in 2019. It produces various shades of pastel pinks and light reds seemingly mimicking the colors of the life in the sea. I thought I would just keep growing it that way. A number of people have taken a fancy to growing this bean so I thought I would get into the act too. It is a very productive bean and producres a nice quality of seed. This photo doesn't do this bean justice.


Cold Creek - Bush Dry..........................................

 

[heirloomgal]

I'm a big fan of the Coral bean too! That lovely assortment of warm, harmonious shades. I've had quite a few people request that bean from me, it's a hit!