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Post by oldmobie on Mar 29, 2019 5:28:38 GMT -5
I grew a collection of pole green beans last summer. They were chosen because they're popular green beans, tasty, and stringless (Or mostly so). I failed to collect seed in the fall. So I collected this week. Any that fell off the vine without my intervention: rejected. Pods not well filled: rejected. (A few of those slipped by me.) Moldiest pods: rejected. Visible damage to seed: rejected. Next I'll select for viability. Seeds not alive: rejected. (Learned that one from Joseph Lofthouse. I only grow out plants from seed that survived. Does wonders for seed viability in the next generation.) I'm thinking of calling it Last Stand. I won't repeat what Mrs oldmobie wants me to call it. For one thing, folks would think it's related to Lazy Housewife, which it isn't. Besides, I prefer the term convenience enthusiast. And I don't even have a donkey. So of course I have a few questions. 1) Do I need to be concerned about the low level mold? 2) Should I sort out anything obvious, knowing I'll surely miss something? 3) Should I soak with bleach, vinegar, peroxide, etc to kill off pathogens? If the answer to #3 is yes: 4) Which chemical? 5) What concentration? 6) For how long? 7) Can I do this, then redry for storage, or is it important to soak right before planting? |
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Post by reed on Mar 29, 2019 5:52:36 GMT -5
You mean you just now harvested the seeds, they hung on the vines all winter? I like the sound of Last Stand, has a nice ring too it, easy to remember but Mrs. Oldmobie's suggestion sounds appropriate as as well. I don't have a clue about soaking seeds in chemicals but I might suggest to optimize the convenience factor, just wait and see what volunteers.  |
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Post by imgrimmer on Mar 29, 2019 11:06:14 GMT -5
I have some plants in my garden which volunteer every year. Seeds hang on the vine until spring. Then I pick them and throw them on the ground. Thats it. No chemicals, no protection.
What is you goal?
Do you want a self seeding variety?
How cold does it get in your winter?
To me it seems as long as the seeds stay dry in the pods they withstand frost even for a long time.
I am not sure about the seeds on/in the ground. It seems that these seeds have problems with mold but I have no proof.
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Post by oldmobie on Mar 29, 2019 14:18:38 GMT -5
Quality green beans that are still nice even picked a day or two too late. Large plants that shade you as you pick, and take full advantage of trellis space. A desirable landrace giving me extra seeds to trade or share. Maybe a bit of a sheep / goat / chicken treat along the way. Hadn't thought about it. Sure, that'd be nice, but I'd still like to be able to collect seed in case I want to grow it elsewhere or share / trade. Most winters we'll get some sub zero (farenheit) temps. Not usually below -20, or longer than a week. |
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Post by hortusbrambonii on Mar 30, 2019 2:02:38 GMT -5
Do you have pollination and crossing of varieties in P. vulgaris over there?
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Post by reed on Mar 30, 2019 8:45:09 GMT -5
Do you have pollination and crossing of varieties in P. vulgaris over there? In my garden in Indiana crossing in P. vulgaris is fairly common. Our bumblebees love the flowers, I encourage crossing by inter-planting to make it more likely they will move pollen between the different ones. |
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Post by imgrimmer on Mar 30, 2019 11:31:59 GMT -5
My plants are left overs from a big seed trial. All plants were grown very close by to encourage cross pollination. I hope that they cross pollinate but it is more likely that they are selfpollinating like usual.
At least seed coloration has changed over the time from Borlotto style to nearly white.
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Post by imgrimmer on Mar 30, 2019 11:32:59 GMT -5
In my garden in Indiana crossing in P. vulgaris is fairly common. Our bumblebees love the flowers, I encourage crossing by inter-planting to make it more likely they will move pollen between the different ones. very interesting! |
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Post by hortusbrambonii on Mar 31, 2019 5:57:40 GMT -5
I've grown a lot of beans over the years in Belgium but never had cross-pollination except in one instance of my 'Hidatsa shield' (which might have been wrongly named) which mixed with something more rectangular and white.
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Post by flowerbug on Dec 23, 2019 9:52:06 GMT -5
i cannot say any longer how many crosses i've found through the years. i've only been at it for 12yrs now in this location, but we have enough bumblebee diversity to work the flowers on the bean plants. we also grow cucumbers and squash that they seem to enjoy along with the lima beans. i don't usually block plant or isolate beans from each other so that does encourage crosses. i pick a few crosses each year to grow out and trial them to see what happens and if they are stable. it can be interesting to plant 10 beans that all look exactly alike and to end up with 10 different children (and none of them looking like the parent). i had that happen this season with 2 beans so i have way more grow outs for the future than i will ever be able to do. some of them are so beautiful i hope they are stable. i'll pick those and go from there. some don't pan out (they don't like our soil or climate).
i didn't have a camera much of this past season so i don't have many recent pictures of beans yet but this page is where i put most of my bean pictures:
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Post by reed on Dec 24, 2019 6:08:33 GMT -5
I grow a mix or a landarce or a grex or whatever else it might be called for use as dry beans. I also grow individual varieties for specific uses, mostly for green beans. I don't usually know when crosses show up in the mix patch cause they are so mixed up already.
When they show up in the variety patches they are easy to see but for the most part they just get culled from there and sent to the mixed patch.
Every once in awhile an interesting one gets picked out to see what it turns into and maybe stabilized. I grow a very old bean called Refugee and it threw an off-type a few seasons ago which I planted and it turned into 1/2 a dozen new ones. One of those is really nice so I'm growing it by itself next year, for now I'm calling it Escapee.
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Post by flowerbug on Dec 24, 2019 11:16:20 GMT -5
I grow a mix or a landarce or a grex or whatever else it might be called for use as dry beans. I also grow individual varieties for specific uses, mostly for green beans. I don't usually know when crosses show up in the mix patch cause they are so mixed up already. When they show up in the variety patches they are easy to see but for the most part they just get culled from there and sent to the mixed patch. Every once in awhile an interesting one gets picked out to see what it turns into and maybe stabilized. I grow a very old bean called Refugee and it threw an off-type a few seasons ago which I planted and it turned into 1/2 a dozen new ones. One of those is really nice so I'm growing it by itself next year, for now I'm calling it Escapee.
hi reed (aka reedy from TEG  ). you sent me the green bean mix to try out this season and most of them did grow but only a few of them had seeds. i didn't eat many of them hoping i'd have more seeds to work with for future plantings but only a few did that. we didn't have a great season for beans with all the rains we had and so little sunshine.
as for dry beans, i have a lot of projects going on with those, some i may never see the end of, but at least it keeps me interested and paying attention and trying to learn new things.
most of what i'm growing are bush beans or semi-runner beans. i don't have much pole/fence space so i have to be selective about what i am planting to try out. certain ones that work out have traits i really like so i'll keep growing them to hope for crosses to the existing lines.
i have a lot to keep learning. |
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Post by reed on Dec 25, 2019 4:37:30 GMT -5
Ah, flowerbug , I though you seemed familiar. What I sent you was bush beans wasn't it? Sorry they didn't do very well. I'v been phasing them out and moving to pole type. Now I'm especially focusing on semi-runners. Don't have to build such big trellises but still they are up off the ground, easier to pick and much less molds and dirt like with bush types. |
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Post by flowerbug on Dec 25, 2019 7:21:17 GMT -5
yes, all bush types. i don't mind them being down lower, i'm trying to get more upright plants in the mix so any cross breeds from those will be more upright plants. Purple Dove is a nice addition to my plantings and it doesn't care what type of soil it gets grown in.
some future years if i stick with this place i will have more dedicated pole bean space, but at the moment i'm working on other projects.
there are some beans that don't really like clay/heavy soils and others that don't seem to care as much. Dappled Grey seems to be another bean which doesn't mind the clay as much. i've now grown Early Warwick twice and the second time i put it in the more sandy soil garden i can use and they did better there than they did in the heavier soil garden so i know they are more sensitive to soil conditions.
all the beans you sent me were bush type beans. they were all planted in a mix of soils so i think a lot of the results of them not doing as well was mostly weather related. but i have also noticed that certain types of beans have a harder time of pollinating here. i'm not sure why. years ago when i ordered some beans from a seed company they sent an experimental fresh bean mix which included seeds from a long thin bean that had long white seeds. it was an excellent green bean, but i could not get those to propagate more seeds very easily so i gave up on them. i need to pay more attention to the easy keepers and beans that show some positive response to my efforts. |
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). you sent me the green bean mix to try out this season and most of them did grow but only a few of them had seeds. i didn't eat many of them hoping i'd have more seeds to work with for future plantings but only a few did that. we didn't have a great season for beans with all the rains we had and so little sunshine.