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Post by Emerald on Aug 24, 2009 11:47:11 GMT -5
I also tried a new heirloom bean this year and am not so pleased with it- the "Trionfo Violetto" While the plant is very pretty and the flowers are some of the most attractive ones I've seen on a pole bean, the fruit set and the flavor are a bit disappointing. Not really "green beany" tasting. If I have the room I might grow them in one of the flower beds and harvest them for eating too, but not big on the "plant next year" list if you know what I mean. 
And the other new one is just now making beans so I hope that it is better- one of the trades I made last fall sent me some McCaslin pole beans and I only had room for about 10 of them so I am quite happy that they all came up and seem to have a huge set of blooms compared to the plants. I can't wait to taste them and compare them to the ones I normally plant-- I have three other pole beans that I ran out of room for so I might be adding another 50 feet of fence next year!
I know for sure that the poles that I didn't get planted and that are going in first thing next year are the "Greasy Grits" I am hoping that next summer will be a bit warmer and that the gardens get "more under control" than this year- I have been spending more time with the grandbaby instead of gardening! 
I didn't even plant the poor cowpeas- I just knew for some reason that it was not going to be warm enuf, so they hopefully will be going in the garden next year- I might be making some small pvc tunnels with some of the leftover pipes we have to warm up the soil and get stuff in earlier. Our spring was so long and cool with the unexpected late frosts all the way into the end of June, that a nice covering would have come in handy.
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Post by canadamike on Aug 24, 2009 17:02:04 GMT -5
I am growing them and they are delicious here, my friend picked some this afternoon and was munching on them like crazy, they were her favorite....
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Post by grunt on Aug 24, 2009 23:45:49 GMT -5
Emerald: Think up instead of sideways. Check out the Beans, and Overview albums at picasaweb.google.com/danvaltrial. Each of those bean towers is the equivalent of 10' of row. One caveat = make sure your poles are heavy enough to hold the weight. Most of the heavy producers that I grew this year somewhat exceeded the strength of the poles I provided, and tried to join the archer competition = they turned the poles into bows. Next year I use 2-3" fence rails for poles. You can see how I did the single pole teepees by zooming in on the photos in picasaweb. The only thing that isn't shown is that the poles are tied to the row posts rather than embedded in the soil. Come harvest time, they can be lowered to the ground to strip the plants for dried beans and seed. |
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Post by Emerald on Aug 25, 2009 9:16:25 GMT -5
Grunt- I like your pole set up but I just can't take stuff down and put it up every year(let alone harvest it! I'm only 5'5" ;D)- my set up is 6 foot welded wire fencing in 50 feet lengths and I have 8 foot poles and the fencing is attached to the top of the poles so I have to train the plants a bit to the bottom of the fencing, I never have to take it down and the worst problem I have is pulling the old dead stuff off the fencing- I rotate every three years, beans then tomatoes then squash/cucumber. I keep them mulched well and I have a soaker hose that runs under the mulch right with the fencing line. When I have to water I just plug that soaker in for a few hours and then move it to the next 50 foot section- I have two sections of fence right now and I decided to put the chickens in a different pen this year so I am using the sunny side of their old pen to grow some more stuff and that is about 25 or so feet. (On a side note, I have the empty chicken pen growing some nice green like dandilions and sunflowers and old lettuce seeds and some kale that I had extra seeds for and some clover and grass that just came in naturally, This fall the chickens will be put back into that pen and I will seed the other side and let them graze there if it gets some good green before the snow hits.)
One of the runs of fencing is in a spiral shape and it no longer looks even 7 feet tall due to the fact that the mulch is building up and I have to move the fencing back up, it is starting to get buried! 
It has beans on it and this picture is from a couple of years ago.
Here is the one that is in the "L" shape with tomatoes and a cucumber this is also from a couple of years ago (due to crappy summer weather they do not look this nice this year the tomatoes are only about halfway up  )
One good thing is that I can grow some of the lettuces and cooler crops inside these fences and they get some shade in the afternoon. They do work good for me, but in the beginning the first one (spiral) I was cheap and didn't have enuf poles and it almost broke, so now It does have more poles! no more bendy fence- and one year a deer must have gotten into the spiral and then got scared as it tried to jump the fence and put a huge bulge in the fencing that took a while to fix, it left plenty of hair and foot prints so I know it was one of them 4 legged thieves!
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Post by bunkie on Aug 25, 2009 13:19:45 GMT -5
michel sent me some 'TRIOFO VIOLETO POLE' bean seeds. i'm not sure if they're the same as you posted em. anyway, we grew them this year. they were the first producing of all the beans and had a great leaf coveraage. many of the beans are over 8 inches long and a gorgeous purple color. they're about half an inch wide. the taste is crispy and fresh. they beat the Purple Pod Pole and Blue Victor as far as producing earlier and heavy production. they're still going strong.
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Post by Emerald on Aug 25, 2009 13:33:01 GMT -5
michel sent me some 'TRIOFO VIOLETO POLE' bean seeds. I'm not sure if they're the same as you posted em. anyway, we grew them this year. they were the first producing of all the beans and had a great leaf coverage. many of the beans are over 8 inches long and a gorgeous purple color. they're about half an inch wide. the taste is crispy and fresh. they beat the Purple Pod Pole and Blue Victor as far as producing earlier and heavy production. they're still going strong.
And now I can't wait until next year when I put the Greasy Grits out- they sound so different. I love to eat all of the green/string beans raw right off the fencing! But the Trionfo Violetto just taste awful raw, and just ok cooked. I did buy mine from the Burpee display so maybe their seed is not the best.
So if the Trionfo Violetto don't taste good next year then OUT they go! But it is nice to see that someone else has better luck with them. |
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Post by Emerald on Aug 26, 2009 9:22:40 GMT -5
Emerald: Think up instead of sideways. Come harvest time, they can be lowered to the ground to strip the plants for dried beans and seed. |
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Post by bunkie on Aug 26, 2009 10:08:28 GMT -5
em, from what i understand, and i could be wrong, val picks the green beans from the bottom up, and the ones on the very top they leave for dry beans. i was going to try that this year with mine, but i didn't get the trellises tall enough...and, there are a few beans i missed on the bottom that went to seed right away. so i am actually doing the opposite, picking the beans on top and leaving the bottom ones for seed and dry....maybe next year... ;D
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Post by Emerald on Aug 26, 2009 10:58:43 GMT -5
em, from what i understand, and i could be wrong, val picks the green beans from the bottom up, and the ones on the very top they leave for dry beans. i was going to try that this year with mine, but i didn't get the trellises tall enough...and, there are a few beans i missed on the bottom that went to seed right away. so i am actually doing the opposite, picking the beans on top and leaving the bottom ones for seed and dry....maybe next year... ;D |
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Post by grungy on Aug 26, 2009 11:21:32 GMT -5
Yes, Emerald and Bunkie, that is what I meant. Green from the bottom and dried from the top. You see you have a height advantage on me, Emerald. I am only 4' 9 1/2", and until we cut the bean plants at the bottom, undo the strings from their pegs and then tip the poles down I can't even dream of pick the higher ups without a ladder. Perhaps you could do the bean poles the same way, to save space.
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Post by grungy on Aug 26, 2009 11:24:27 GMT -5
By the way, Emerald there is about 55 varieties of beans that will have seeds saved for trading this year and you will find us, how shall I put this, er - very generous and easy to deal with. Like from even/steven to a "pay it forward" type dealing. <big grin> Just ask Michel about tomato seeds. <tee-hee>
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Post by Emerald on Aug 26, 2009 11:31:31 GMT -5
:oAnd I thought that I was small! I have enuf room for probably 20 more 50foot fencing runs if I wanted them- I just like that I don't have to move them or put them up or down each year, as I nerve damage in my back and I have to make other folks do most of the really physical stuff. Also If I use another run of fencing around the other side of the garden then maybe the stuff on the inside might be a bit safer from the deer. Lucky for me they have not seemed to develop a taste for pole beans- yet if I try to grow bush beans they eat them to the nubs!?
I ask for garden stuff for my birthday and holiday gifts! You should have seen the face on one of my friends when I told her what I got for Mother's day-- fire bricks for my Earth oven.. lol you could have flown a jet into that mouth! ;D She just shook her head about the fence poles and fencing for Christmas gifts..
I am still thinking about what I need this year- more plywood to make cold frames? Yes that sounds good! lol
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Post by Emerald on Aug 26, 2009 11:38:47 GMT -5
By the way, Emerald there is about 55 varieties of beans that will have seeds saved for trading this year and you will find us, how shall I put this, er - very generous and easy to deal with. Like from even/steven to a "pay it forward" type dealing. <big grin> Just ask Michel about tomato seeds. <tee-hee>  I too have used the pay it forward- a great gardening friend in Detroit sent me huge plants and a box full of goodies and refused to take any payment or trades, he just asked that I do the same if someone needed stuff.. I truly believe in Karma, or what goes around comes around, I do seem to be "wealthy" in my good fortune.
Look at us, will ya- this years harvest not even in yet, and already thinking of next years garden! ;D |
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Post by grungy on Aug 26, 2009 20:57:24 GMT -5
Not a problem, been mailing back and forth for 5 years and only lost to my knowledge 2 parcels.
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Post by Penny on Aug 28, 2009 5:38:37 GMT -5
Holy cow Val..........55 varieties, i cant wait to see that list too!!
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)
I too have used the pay it forward- a great gardening friend in Detroit sent me huge plants and a box full of goodies and refused to take any payment or trades, he just asked that I do the same if someone needed stuff.. I truly believe in Karma, or what goes around comes around, I do seem to be "wealthy" in my good fortune.