The 2014 Little Easy Bean Network - Get New Beans On The Cheap

[Blue-Jay]

Hey Aftermidnight,

Thanks for the nice picture of the CdC 226. Last year I had CdC 226 planted next to true bush types on the rows either side of CdC. However the bean that followed CdC in the row was a semi-runner. This could be a dominate phenotypical trait the shows up immediately the following season in the plant. Maybe Hal knows something about this. I would guess that plant that is throwing off the runner is going to give you white seed this year, but would likely give you a new seedcoat next year in 2015. If you get a new seedcoat other than white this season 2014. Then the outcrossing did not occur in my garden. I planted CdC 226 for the first time last year from seed I acquired from SSE in Decorah, Iowa. I'm just trying to figure out where the outcrossing may have occured. Fun to try to figure out these little mysteries.

 

[aftermidnight]

Hi Russ, I'm bagging all the flowers on the semi runner? so there should be no crossing this year, we'll see what we have when I collect seed at the end of the season. I'll definitely plant these again next year, see what we get.

Annette

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'll give an update. My Cape Sugar #3 did not make it so this is the last I'll mention those. My only other pole bean, Lazy Housewife Red, is over seven feet tall and should top out my 12' high trellis easily. It's just starting to bloom.

Now to the bush. I only had 3 seeds of Mahlathini. Two sprouted quickly and are extremely robust, already blooming. The other sprouted late and is a wimp. I'll watch to see if it is just a wimp or if there is any real difference.

The Volta is from small seeds but is very robust and blooming. Good germination and good growth. I like the way it's looking.

The Timbavati was kind of spotty. It germinated OK but only one is growing fairly robustly. No blooms yet. The other Timbavati are kind of wimpy. I am sure I'll get plenty of seeds but it's not as high on my list as the others.

With the Lazy Housewife Red, Timbavati, and Volta I had enough seed to start a second planting, just in case of disaster with the first planting. I plan to try those out as green beans to see how they do and report on that. Those are all doing OK.

Russ, on a side note, I grew Jeminez for you last year, a pole bean. I tried to pick out the best looking seed for you and kept the others for me. I've used some as a dried bean and they were OK, maybe a little hard to hull. I planted about a 15' row of them this year to check them out as a green bean. I got nearly perfect germination. I'm really confident the seed I sent you will sprout well.

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

Probably about time that I give an update -

All three Prescott's Old Family Heirloom plants are still with me and doing very well despite the poor soil in the spot that they're planted in and the period's of very wet and very dry that we've been experiencing. They've been flowering heavily for a few days now and I'm starting to see some pod-set. The other bush beans that I had planted near the Prescott's (at the same time as the Prescott's) are for the most part not doing so well - they're a pale green, many are producing runners, and they're just starting to flower (although maybe the soil is a little bit too rich for them?).

 

[baymule]

I got blooms on my Jugo and Bambarra beans! They are tiny, the size of my pinky finger nail and close to the soil, at the bottom of the plant. I took a pic of the Jugo bloom-it looks the same as the bambarra.

 

[journey11]

Russ, on a side note, I grew Jeminez for you last year, a pole bean. I tried to pick out the best looking seed for you and kept the others for me. I've used some as a dried bean and they were OK, maybe a little hard to hull. I planted about a 15' row of them this year to check them out as a green bean. I got nearly perfect germination. I'm really confident the seed I sent you will sprout well.

I had the same experience with the Appaloosa from last year too. I picked out all the plump, prettier ones for Russ and kept the shamefully sad looking ones, but they came up fine and are quite vigorous plants. I was really tickled pink. I think it was wet feet that made them come out so ugly. All of my beans are on high ground or raised beds this year.

 

[Hal]

I had the same experience with the Appaloosa from last year too. I picked out all the plump, prettier ones for Russ and kept the shamefully sad looking ones, but they came up fine and are quite vigorous plants. I was really tickled pink. I think it was wet feet that made them come out so ugly. All of my beans are on high ground or raised beds this year.

Journey your shamefully sad seed as you put it turned out to come up incredibly well and has produced you vigorous plants, often the best looking purchased seed doesn't come up great at all.
Simply put in most cases the home grower produces better seed than the majority of mainstream seed companies.
If you take care of your plants you end up with high quality seed and with time also adapted to your own local conditions.
You have the peace of mind in knowing how it was grown, how it did under your conditions and that you will have the reliability next season when it comes to sowing the seed.
Russ and everyone participating in the Little Easy Bean Network will each end up with their own high quality seed which is priceless.

Journey are you going to grow the Appaloosa on a regular basis?

 

[Hal]

Hey Aftermidnight,

Thanks for the nice picture of the CdC 226. Last year I had CdC 226 planted next to true bush types on the rows either side of CdC. However the bean that followed CdC in the row was a semi-runner. This could be a dominate phenotypical trait the shows up immediately the following season in the plant. Maybe Hal knows something about this. I would guess that plant that is throwing off the runner is going to give you white seed this year, but would likely give you a new seedcoat next year in 2015. If you get a new seedcoat other than white this season 2014. Then the outcrossing did not occur in my garden. I planted CdC 226 for the first time last year from seed I acquired from SSE in Decorah, Iowa. I'm just trying to figure out where the outcrossing may have occured. Fun to try to figure out these little mysteries.

I think my two cents on CdC after having grown the rice seeded and the small round pea like CdC is that they can throw short runners not all the time though.
I'll know why after this growing season, I bulked up both CdC specifically to grow a large crop for seed and some for the table.
Some bush beans in the past I have seen produce runners due to shade and/or nitrogen.

 

[journey11]

Journey are you going to grow the Appaloosa on a regular basis?

I will, at least every other year or so. Now that I have more of them, I will see how well I like eating them. I do a lot of canning, both green and dried beans, so productivity and flavor are important to me. For as many as I have planted this year, I am keeping a notebook on how they do.

 

[Hal]

I will, at least every other year or so. Now that I have more of them, I will see how well I like eating them. I do a lot of canning, both green and dried beans, so productivity and flavor are important to me. For as many as I have planted this year, I am keeping a notebook on how they do.

I'll be interested to see if you like them, I think they are nice eating like Magpie (similar seed and pod traits)