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

[ruralmamma]

My 8y/o daughter insisted on being the one to open the box. Not sure which of us is more excited for spring.

My daughter just turned 11 and loves playing with and sorting beans. This will be the first year in which she'll have her very own bed and a few bean varieties to grow. I've always been careful not to force gardening upon her, but let her develop an interest on her own as I did as a child. We're so excited for this year too!

 

[flowerbug]

My daughter just turned 11 and loves playing with and sorting beans. This will be the first year in which she'll have her very own bed and a few bean varieties to grow. I've always been careful not to force gardening upon her, but let her develop an interest on her own as I did as a child. We're so excited for this year too!

i wish it were easier for people to get around.

i have five full quarts of dry beans that i'll be eating that she'd probably have fun going through. they're a mix of whatever i've had extra in the collection or old beans i won't grow again. there's probably a bunch of different varieties in there depending upon how they are sorted. since i tend to select by colors and shapes i can have a lot of different browns or other colors along with different shapes.

some of them are ones i could name and others will just be generic eating beans because i don't need yet more browns or whatever and i can't grow them all.

i still haven't really gone through my entire collection yet to get some weeded out so i'd also have those too eventually.

 

[ruralmamma]

We had a few warm days and lots of garden prep going on. Still working on the new/updated bean trellis in my head and trying to determine the best way to implement it. Have moved two small beds in the area and still have one to go. Haven't really decided what will be planted where except that the Avalon beans will have a dedicated bed to themselves in an attempt to get some true-to-type seed.

I am planning on giving limas a try again as I've only been somewhat successful with those and was totally unaware of how easily they cross, so adding that to my notes and will keep the two varieties I'm planting in different gardens.

Also reading about runner beans and insect activity and wondering how far away to plant them to avoid cross-pollination? One of my daughter's beds will likely be for pollinators and is currently situated about 10' away from my bean arch. Is that too close? In all likelihood I'll be planting a crop strictly for eating and preserving on that arch, so cross-pollination shouldn't be much of an issue, but what about the beans a bit farther away? Maybe I'm just worrying too much.

 

[ruralmamma]

i wish it were easier for people to get around.

i have five full quarts of dry beans that i'll be eating that she'd probably have fun going through. they're a mix of whatever i've had extra in the collection or old beans i won't grow again. there's probably a bunch of different varieties in there depending upon how they are sorted. since i tend to select by colors and shapes i can have a lot of different browns or other colors along with different shapes.

some of them are ones i could name and others will just be generic eating beans because i don't need yet more browns or whatever and i can't grow them all.

i still haven't really gone through my entire collection yet to get some weeded out so i'd also have those too eventually.

She had so much fun helping me sort the beans you sent last year and we're planning to grow quite a few of them this year.