I Am A Seed Hoarder

[digitS']

Oh My Heavens!

Look at those Datura! And, the Brugmansia seeds in Georgia Vines' other (son's?) website: BuyRareSeeds!)

Rare edibles? I hardly know what some of those are! Caperbush ... Goji ... who was looking for Goji? @Pulsegleaner , you can sure find things that give us something to think about ...

Steve

 

[Zeedman]

Well, there ARE strains of hyacinth beans that are suitable for eating (they're a staple for India). Problem is they aren't purple (they're green, with white flowers) and tend to be really short day dependent (I'm trying to correct that, but as I am pretty far north, it is proving a problem).

And you can eat ANY of them as green beans, it's simply a matter of what you can and can't eat as mature seed (trust me from the foraging I have done, by the time the seed is ripe enough to be a danger, the pods are too tough and leathery to be attractive as vegetables.)

Very true, especially for the climbing varieties (which is most of them). I tried several of those here, and they only began flowering in September. That gave me time to sample the young pods, but dry seed is out of the question. Too bad, because the purple-podded variety was quite pleasant when cooked, nearly the same flavor as a regular snap bean.

There is a white-flowered bush hyacinth bean, which is day-neutral. It was bred for edible pods, which are picked young; similar in shape to snow peas. In my latitude (44 degrees North) it flowered very quickly... 30 days after planting (!!!) in the long days of July. I was able to harvest quite a bit of seed, if you would like to try some, just send a PM.

There is another day-neutral white-flowered variety (also bush) which was bred for use as seeds, but I have yet to try it. The funny thing about both is that they were bred in India for their bush habit, and the day-neutral sensitivity was just an incidental by-product.

Only one seed packet ordered from BK so far, that new wingbean ( I REALLY want a wingbean that will grow here, so if this works I'll be halfway to my goal*)

Me too. I've tried a couple of allegedly "day neutral" winged beans, but they still flowered too late for me to get anything more than a couple weeks of immature pods - and no seed. It's hard to tell whether they are still somewhat photo-period sensitive, or whether they just require a longer season than I have here. Too had, because the flowers are beautiful, and all parts of the plant are edible. I've been debating whether they are worth trying one more time, to sample the leaves as a cooked vegetable... not that I really need one more tropical green.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Very true, especially for the climbing varieties (which is most of them). I tried several of those here, and they only began flowering in September. That gave me time to sample the young pods, but dry seed is out of the question. Too bad, because the purple-podded variety was quite pleasant when cooked, nearly the same flavor as a regular snap bean.

The thing I find somewhat odd is that, based on what I have seen scouting around the Indian grocery stores, a lot of the popular strains of valor (what green lablab bean pods are called in Hindi) are purple/black seeded, which usually mean a type which needs to be leached to be edible. You'd think that, with the option of white seeded types the commercial growers would tend to pick those as being "safer" if picked overripe.

There is a white-flowered bush hyacinth bean, which is day-neutral. It was bred for edible pods, which are picked young; similar in shape to snow peas. In my latitude (44 degrees North) it flowered very quickly... 30 days after planting (!!!) in the long days of July. I was able to harvest quite a bit of seed, if you would like to try some, just send a PM.

I've already got it, you sent me some in exchange for some white hyacinth beans back on the Easy Gardener.

There is another day-neutral white-flowered variety (also bush) which was bred for use as seeds, but I have yet to try it. The funny thing about both is that they were bred in India for their bush habit, and the day-neutral sensitivity was just an incidental by-product.

Actually outside of India/China, there really isn't that much hyacinth germplasm out there to work with (well, there is a LOT in Africa, but I mean germplasm someone here can get their hands on). Most catalogs only carry standard (purple) Ruby Moon (purple day neutral) maybe the white one, and the Japanese one whose name I can't remember (begins with an "F"). I have also managed to cull together a half dozen or so more (mostly from lucky finds in commercial material.

Me too. I've tried a couple of allegedly "day neutral" winged beans, but they still flowered too late for me to get anything more than a couple weeks of immature pods - and no seed. It's hard to tell whether they are still somewhat photo-period sensitive, or whether they just require a longer season than I have here. Too had, because the flowers are beautiful, and all parts of the plant are edible. I've been debating whether they are worth trying one more time, to sample the leaves as a cooked vegetable... not that I really need one more tropical green.

I know of three day length neutral ones. One is the Japanese one mentioned here. There is also a Hunan Wingbean I seem to recall (was that Baker Creek as well?).

The third is the one Richter's sells. Assuming their seed is grown semi locally, that might work best, since it would be adapted for Canadian day lengths (which are even shorter than anything we have.)

 

[baymule]

I tend to prefer Mountain Valley Growers for my herbs, but that is simply because they have a wider selection that includes a lot of the more exotic ones I often have use for, like Pine Rosemary, Egyptian Mint, Syrian Za'taar (oregano on steroids) cone thyme (thyme on SUPER steroids) cat thyme (stronger than catnip) and so on.

I want to thank you for the reference to Mountain Valley Growers..... The site looks awesome.....like I needed another seed source! I'm sure that I need something from this site......

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I want to thank you for the reference to Mountain Valley Growers..... The site looks awesome.....like I needed another seed source! I'm sure that I need something from this site......

They're actually a PLANT source, not a seed source. And bear in mind you need to order at least six things at a time.

I'd also steer clear of the Conehead thyme unless and until you are an expert. It is a VERY finicky plant (I went through four before I got one to stay alive more than a few weeks). And unless you NEED thyme so strong it almost burns probably not all that essential.

Also bear in mind that cat thyme makes cats go crazy WAY harder than catnip does. My cat tried to chew through a metal trashcan to get at a sprig I had tossed out.

The pine scented rosemary is a little more tender than the standard one.

 

[canesisters]

ooooo-goodie-goodie-goodie-goodie.. a new plant site to check out!

 

[flowerbug]

...
Me too. I've tried a couple of allegedly "day neutral" winged beans, but they still flowered too late for me to get anything more than a couple weeks of immature pods - and no seed. It's hard to tell whether they are still somewhat photo-period sensitive, or whether they just require a longer season than I have here. Too had, because the flowers are beautiful, and all parts of the plant are edible. I've been debating whether they are worth trying one more time, to sample the leaves as a cooked vegetable... not that I really need one more tropical green.

have you tried starting them in big pots early and then planting out? that should help you determine if it is length of season or daylight sensitive.

 

[Zeedman]

have you tried starting them in big pots early and then planting out? that should help you determine if it is length of season or daylight sensitive.

Yes... in fact, that is the way I start most long-season beans, including limas & yardlongs. The problem is that I can only start beans about 3 weeks early, since my greenhouse is unheated. Besides, as I have observed when transplanting has been delayed by bad weather, climbing beans tend to begin putting out runners & getting leggy if started much earlier than that.

I tried winged beans three times; with Hunan, with another supposedly day-neutral offering from ECHO, and with seed from a Hawaiian swap. The plants were all slow growing initially, but had a growth spurt in late summer to cover the trellis. Flowering was moderately heavy once it began, in numbers similar to what I would expect from a climbing cowpea (the flowers too are similar to cowpeas). It's possible that my climate was a little too cool (they did NOT like a brief cool spell in August), but it really seemed that they just needed another month - which I did not have. I suppose the only way to answer the day length vs. DTM question is to observe what the DTM is in a more hospitable climate.

Due to my latitude & short growing season, photo-period sensitive plants do very poorly here. I tried several rice beans too, and while growth was vigorous, the vines only began blooming just before frost. One bush variety - which I really wanted to succeed - never even budded.

 

[flowerbug]

...
Due to my latitude & short growing season, photo-period sensitive plants do very poorly here. I tried several rice beans too, and while growth was vigorous, the vines only began blooming just before frost. One bush variety - which I really wanted to succeed - never even budded.

ah, ok.

i would guess your season is only a bit shorter than mine here. i try to keep my longer season bean selections in the 100-110 day range, but i prefer if they finish sooner and what i am trying to breed are those which finish in the 70-90 day range (the earlier the better).

i don't grow cowpeas any more, trying to focus on beans.

 

[baymule]

I grow long beans that originate from Thailand. I have grown them for 8 years. The first season, I barely got beans, they just vined all summer. After that, the seeds acclimated and I got beans earlier.