Anellino Giallo, Anellino Yellow, are they the same bean? I have Anellino Yellow, sounds like another one I should be adding to my list :).

Annette

Annette, a number of websites say that they are two names for the same bean. The ones I grew had black seeds. They were later than other snaps and it was October 7 when a few pods started to dry. They held on the vine so long that we had some on November 1. No strings. I am planning a 14 foot row with half started in pots. This really is a first class snap and it was a great way to start DW enjoying snaps fat with seeds.

Regarding BJBB, I have not heard of anyone in the PNW having success growing Limas. If anyone can do it, it would be you. - Dick

I haven't looked at this forum for awhile; I was so happy to see a 2013 Growlist thread!

Here's my partial list:
Bush:

Comtesse de Chambord
Pisarecka Zlutoluske (wax)
Bis (wax)
Blue Jay
Canadian Wonder
Macedonische Boon
Thibodeau de Comte
Scarencic
The Prince
Princesse Double de Hollande
Sutton's Superlative Dwarf
Noir Hatif de Belgique
Glorie d'Ollainville (wax)
Algier Noir Nain (wax)

Pole:

Bosnian Pole
Grandma's Yugoslavian
Zolt Puter (wax)
Puter (wax)
Visok Puter (wax)
Puterka (wax)
Uzice Speckled Wax (wax)
Tisa (wax)
Cherokee Trail of Tears
Lazy Housewife
Serbian Pole
Rumanian (a purple snap from a swap)

I am sure that this list will change as I acquire more varieties or decide that some can wait until 2014.

This post was edited by crnagora95 on Thu, Apr 11, 13 at 15:43

My initial thoughts until the SSE Yearbook is released.

Bush-Snap
Cherokee Wax
Dragon Tongue
Empress
Golden Wax
Migliorucci
Woods Mountain Crazy Bean

Bush-Dry
Dr Wyche's Russian
Hutterite
Jacob's Cattle
Piattelle Toscane
Vermont Cranberry

Pole-Snap
Blue Coco
Bosnian Pole
Bosnian Yellow Pod
Greasy Grit Menifee County Kentucky
Major Cook's Climbing Bean
Tarheel

Pole-Dry
Norcino
Red Climber

Cowpeas
Biwa Sitter
Fagiolina de Transimeno
Purple hull

Yardlong
Chinese Red Noodle
Bush - Yancheng

Dean

Here is my list:
Lazy Wife pole
Snowball pole
Malibu pole
Garafal Oro
Kwintus
Helda Yellow
McCaskin
Violet Podded pole
Super Marconi
Dade
Speckled Cranberry
Florida Speckled
Alston Mix
BJBB (saved from 4 per pod)
Gigandes

Most of these will be planted in four inch pots near the end ot this month. I have only 75 feet of row for pole beans. Since I want to save the Dade seed, I plan to interplant the Dade and something else in my wife's 60 row-feet of sunflowers on the other end of the garden. Does anyone think Gigandes will work interplanted with sunflowers?

Bush Bean List
Buerre De Rocquncourt
Chestnut Flavoured
Cofinel
Jembo Polish
Odawa
Shin Kintoka
Tsunetomi Nagauzura

Pole Beans
Aztec White Runner
Badda Bianca (rare from Sicily)
Devils Defiance Runner
Fat White Boy
Gialet Della Val Belluna
Gigandes
Jescot's Longun's Runner
Monaco Musso Niriu (rare from Sicily)
Rampicanta Scossesse (rare from Italy)
Signora Della Champaegna
Stangenbohne (swiss Heirloom)
Takamatua Black Runner
Yoeme Ojo De Cabra

Thanks for the trades Annette. Cheers Marj

"Bush Bean List
...
Jembo Polish"

"Jembo Polish" is a pole bean. Are you sure you don't mean "Jumbo"?

The Jumbo Polish listed at SSE is also a pole bean and appears to be an incorrect spelling of Jembo. They are listed as having the same source and the source spells it Jembo. Then there is also Jembo Horticultural pole. SSE has dozens if not hundreds of duplicate entries with different names or the same bean listed in different categories. Keeps it interesting. - Dick

Hi Marj good to 'see' you here and you're welcome. Maybe we can do another trade in the fall I have some 'new to me' ones :).
You have "Rampicanta Scossesse" on your list, can you tell me a little more about this one, is it used as a snap bean or dry?

Annette

Annette all I know about this one is that it can be used for fresh eating or as a dry bean. Will try to find out more about it and let you know.
Marj

I have one more to add to my Pole bean list
Mona Chello also a rare Italian Pole.

My garden, this year, will largely be the great unknown, again.

I have about 20 different lines of a cross of Jeminez that I'm working on. My first "stable" bean (Flamingo - a bright pink pole wax) came last year. But, four new color/shapes showed up last year, also.

One step forward, four steps back.

Gary

Hi Dick.

Ever thought about cowpeas?

During my web wanderings, whenever I see something that grows well in a "cool, short season", I think of you lol.

Therefore, I provide the link below, for your consideration *smile*. Now, if for some reason, you don't care for cowpeas, then...um...nevermind.

Rick

Here is a link that might be useful: Fagiolino Dolico di Veneto Cowpea

Hi Rick,

Thanks for the suggestion. I don't think I have ever seen a cowpea in my life except in some of Zeedman's and other GW photos. Annette reports that she has not had much success with them in our climate but the one in you link might work here. Victory Seeds farm runs about 5-10 degrees F warmer than here in the summer. - Dick

Here's my list so far, barring trades or an additional purchase. I've decided I like the beans that have edible pods more than the shelly type of bean which develope tough pods which are not edible and must be shelled to eat just the bean. I'm also not growing my favorite and most productive bean this year, Runner bean Insuk's Wang Kong, to grow some white-seeded runner beans instead. I have gotten a few white beans when growing IWK last year.

Snap bush beans
Velour pencil purple
Capitano white-seeded Romano
Pisarecka Zlutoluske wax can be planted out April 15
Marconi Nano black-seeded Romano
Kinghorn Wax
Purple Queen
Yer Fasulaysi brown-seeded Romano
Pink Peanut half-runner
Speedy

Bush shell beans
Spanish Tolosana

Pole Snap beans
Jembo Polish
NC Speckled Long Greasy Cutshort
Runner Cannellini
Corona AKA Bianco di Spagna
Sweet White Runner Cannellini
Super Marconi
Uncle Steve's
Grandma Robert's Purple Pole
Annelino Giallo

Peas
Sugar Ann
Sugar Sprint
Super Sugar Snap

Hemnancy, that is an interesting list. I am looking forward to growing your black seed Anellino Giallo again this year. This time I plan to start some in pots.

Your summers start earlier than mine, but it is still remarkable that you can plant out Pisarecka Zlutoluske wax in mid-April. Can it tolerate some frost? - Dick

Pisarecka Zlutoluske is very cold tolerant. The 30 year temperature lows for here are above freezing by April 15, though I guess a cold snap can always happen. When I have planted PZ on that date it survived and produced several years. I think Runner beans can maybe be planted out by then here too. I used to wait until June 15 to plant pole beans until I saw one volunteer more like May 15 so I moved my planting dates to May 15 then fill in where I need to if they aren't growing by June 15, which is still the deadline I like to plant beans by, unless they are short season enough to plant later. It is warmer here, I haven't had to start beans early in pots.

Another thing I do to plant earlier is to put my TunLCovers on the rows to dry them out for a couple of weeks before planting, since they keep the rain off underneath, so I don't have to plant into cold wet mud. I tried measuring temperatures under the tunnels and in the ground and got a 10*F difference. I tried leaving the tunnels on after planting but that didn't work well because the voles went crazy under cover of the tunnels and ate the seeds. I do leave the tunnels on tomato, squash, and cucumber plants successfully. My present regime is to put a lot of lava rock into the furrow when planting the beans and sprinkle cayenne pepper on them and stick in a 4" nail by each pole bean seed (caution!, danger!) to protect it from burrowers from below. I don't use the nails so much with bush beans, voles don't bother them as much as pole beans, which they like to nip off above ground after they've been growing up the trellis. PZ is a nice heirloom wax bean, more pencil thin whereas King Longhorn that I tried last year is bigger and wider. I like to grow PZ to get some earlier beans.

Hi Everyone !

Speaking of bean varieties I just thought I would clue the bean lovers into another bean website I found recently. No info on the beans, but the pictures are fun to look at and wonder about growing some of these. I think the site is based in Germany.

http://www.bohnen-atlas.de/sorten/e/176-engelsbohne

Here is a link that might be useful: A Bean Collector's Window

Nice find, Bluejay... bookmarked for in-depth review. Thanks.

Hemnancy thank you for the information about Pisarecka Zlutoluske and how you grow them.

Russ, that site is quite the find. Looks like your Holy bean may be a snap after all. - Dick

"I don't think I have ever seen a cowpea in my life..."

Well Dick, how's about a Tepary bean then lol? I have never seen one of those, but I'm gonna give them a whirl this year. Looks like the Black Mitla might work for ya.

Rick

Here is a link that might be useful: Backyard Beans & Grains - Black Mitla Tepary

Thank you Rick. Linden has even cooler summers than we do! - Dick

Hi Everyone !

Glad you liked the bean website from Germany. My bean website has brought me contact with a woman gardener in Austria who sent me the link for that site. It is really something. Another nice little resource. I didn't realize there was actually some information in those headings below the variety name........Duhhh!, as I can't read very much German although I know that bohne is bean. However thanks to Drloyd I now know which heading gives you alternate or synonymous names of the variety. Which one of those headings gives you it's general usage of the variety? Snap/French or dry?

Here is another website for everyone who enjoys beans. You might want to look into. It's based in the UK. Don't know if anyone here has come across this site yet. I traded beans with this gal who has the site. She is a Garden Organic employee. This link is mainly the bean section of the "Linear Legume" It's another site you can spend hours on.

Happy Browsing
Russ

Here is a link that might be useful: The Linear Legume

Russ it appears that I was incorrect about the German site. I noticed that they also label borlotto type beans as "French" beans when translated by Google. So I did a bit more work and found that "Stangenbohne" means pole bean rather than snap bean. Dick

Dick thanks for that piece of information. I noticed some of the photos on that German site have hand written on a little piece of paper BB which I'm asuming might mean Bush Bean.

I'm just surprised that you plan to grow both bush and pole beans as most decide they strongly prefer one or the other for this or that reason.

Here's my planned list, as long as all the ones on order arrive without issue. Many of the beans are being trialled (small-scale) for flavour and production in cool, coastal climate. ~Tatiana

BEANS:
Broad/Fava - Crimson Flowered
Broad/Fava - Witkiem Manita

Bush - Beurre de Rocquencourt
Bush - Blue Jay
Bush - Dragon's Tongue
Bush - Roma II (Romano)

Pole - Emerite
Pole - Garafal Oro (Romano)
Pole - Val's Italian Borlotto
Pole - Neckargold
Pole - Soissons Blanc
Pole - Unknown Purple-Striped Jeminez

Runner - Desiree (white-flowered)
Runner - Samos Greek Lima (white-flowered)
Runner - Ladi Di (red-flowered)
Runner - Red Rum (red-flowered)

PEAS:
Shell - Green Arrow (Dwarf)
Shell - Tall Telephone/Alderman (Tall)
Snap - Cascadia (Dwarf)
Snap - Sugar Snap (Tall)
Snow - Mangetout Carouby de Maussane (Tall)

ps. Hi Annette! I met Shirley at Seedy Saturday and she said we should get in touch.

This post was edited by miss_tati on Thu, Mar 6, 14 at 8:34

Hi and welcome to the forum Tatiana, I see by your list you found the 'Samos Greek Lima' or if you haven't I can spare a few, shoot me an email through GW. I only trialled a couple of plants to see how they'd do up my way, they grew and produced well for me, didn't taste them as I wanted to save the seed. Whether they have the same flavor as the 'Gigandes' I'm growing is yet to be determined.

I only grow one runner each year because they so easily cross. This year it's going to be 'Gigandes' again, hope to have enough for a couple of feeds plus some seed this time around. As a fresh shelly the flavor is outstanding, can hardly wait.

You can see by my list I grow mostly pole beans but do have a couple of bush varieties, my list seems to be changing from day to day as new to me beans come my way :).

As far as peas go only one, it's going to be the purple snow pea 'Shiraz' from seed I saved last year.

Annette

Here is my list
Pole Beans
ALABAMA #1
AUNT ADA'S
AUNT JEAN'S
BIG MAMA
BINGO
BLAUHILDA
BLUE MARBUTT
BLUE LAKE
BOSNIA
CASCADE GIANT
DADE
DAVIS BLACK BEAN
EARLY RISER
EMERITE
FLAMINGO
FORTEX
GOLDEN GATE
GOLDMARIE
GOOD MOTHER STALLARD
GOOSE
GRANDMA ROBERTS
HAWIIAN new need info
HELDA
HICKMAN
IDEAL MARKET
JIMINEZ
JUANITA SMITH
KENTUCKY BLUE
KY.WONDER WAX
KWINTUS
LA.PURPLE POD
LAZY WIFE
LINGUE DI FUOCO aka TONGUE OF FIRE
McCASLAN
MARIBU
MARENGO ROMANO
MARGARET'S BEST GREASY
MARVEL OF VENICE
MEEK'S RUNNING
MONTIE CRISTO
MUSICA
NECKAGOLD
NEON GOOSE
NORTHEASTER
PEBBLES new need info
PINK HALF RUNNER
POLISH
PURPLE PODDED POLE
RATTLE SNAKE
RAJAS DE SADA new need info
ROMANO SNOW BALL GREASY new need info
SPECKLED CRANBERRY
SULTAN'S EMERALD CRESCENT/ S GREEN CRESCENT
STRIP4ED BUNCHC
SUPER MARCONI
TN.GREASY
TRIONFO VIOLETO
TRUE RED CRANBERRY
TURKEY CRAW/GIZZARD
UNCKLE WALT'S VERMONT CRANBERRY
VIOLET PODDED STRINGLESS
ZELMA ZETTA

this is my bush bean list
BLACK BEAN
BLUE LAKE
BLACK TURTLE
BOBIS D' ALBENJA new need info
CHEROKEE WAX
COCO NOIR
DRAGON LANGERIE aka DRAGON TONGUE
DWAFT BORLOTTO ned info
EARLISERVE need info
FIN DE BAGNOL
FRENCH NAVY need info
GREEK
LANDRETH STRINGLESS
LANDSTAR need info
LIGHT RED KIDNEY
NOYOCABA aka CANARY BEAN
NAVY
NANO CANNELLINO need info
ORCA
PEREGION
PROVIDA
RED CALYPSA
ROYAL BURGANDY
TAYLOR CRANBERRY
TENDERGREEN IMPROVED
THIBODEAU DU COMPTE BEAUCE
TIGER'S EYE
VERMONT CRANBERRY
VITTORIA need info
YING YANG

My lima/butter bean list
ALABAMA BLACK
ALSTON COLLECTION
BIG FROSTY
BLACK JUNGLE
BLACK STAR
BUTTERBEAN COLORED
CALICO
CAROLINA RED
CHRISTMAS
FLORIDA SWPECKLED
HOPI POLE
J.POTTES
LAUDERMILK
LYNCH COLLECTION
MEZCLA
NORTH POLE
OLD TIME FENCE
OLD TIME PINK AND WHITE
PIMA ORANGE
RED BUTTER PEA
RED CALICO
SHANTI BOAT POLE
SNOW ON THE MOUNTAIN
VIOLET'SW MULTICOLORED
WHITE BUTTERPEA POLE
WILLOW LEAF
WILLOW LEAF COLORED
Bush lima/butterbeans
DIXIE WHITE BUTTERPEA
DIXIE SPECKLED BUTTERPEA
HENDERSON
JACKSON WONDER
THOROGREEN

My cowpea list
ALSTON BLACK
BLACK CROWDER
CANIDE
FAIRCHILD
GEORGIA HUSTLER
GERALD'S COLLECTION
JOE'S SPECKLED
HARICOT ROUGE BURKINA FASO
HERCULES
HOLSTEIN
OZARK RAZORBACK
PIGGOTT
PIGOTT FAMILY
PINK EYE PURPLE HULL
RED BISBEE
TEXAS LONGHORN
TONI'S RED FIELD

Very darned impressive, hementia8. Please describe the difference between Piggott and Pigott Family. Which one do you like best? Thank you.

My PIGOTT FAMILY HEIRLOOM from Sand Hill and PIGGOTT PEA S.C.Crop Improvement Assoc neither meet the description in the SSE Year Book
Both are redish brown.more like RED RIPPER and RED BISBEE whereas the yearbook varieties over the years state they are grey seeded.
Charlie

Thank you. I'm trying the little red jobbies from SC this year.

"Here is my list
Pole Beans...
bush bean list...
lima/butter bean list...
cowpea list..."

Wow... I think I'm getting dizzy... can't feel my legs...

And just when I was almost recovered from that Turkish bean photo.

When you turn the soil over, Hementia, I'll bet you trigger seismometers in China. ;-)

Charlie your list is making my head spin too.

Annette appears to be speechless. - Dick

Not only speechless, I've just now picked myself up off the floor.

Annette

Did I hear volunteers
Trying to put in another thousand feet of poles
I have about cleared out the woods of saplings and brush for poles
Charlie

I have a question in that how can a person grow so many different varieties. I thought beans crossed easily. I have several I want to plant but don't want them to cross.

Ellie

Charlie I am a bean newbie but I thought Kwintus was just the new name for Early Riser?

Both are offfered by SSE members and descriptions are similar. Some sources list them as the same bean.

Here in the PNW Kwintus pods get tough and fibrous at 10 inches but I have not seen anyone say that about early riser. Kwintus is a very fine late season shelly in our cool fall weather. - Dick

2013 Bean Report (short version) The poles beans were planted out on 5/25 and the bush beans on 6/2. Well over half the days in June, July, August and the first half of September were warmer than average but there were several nights in the 40s every month. The last half of September was unseasonably cold and extremely wet with torrential rains. 10/4 30 F. Most of the beans survived . 10/29 26F.

Bush Beans. These were a partial crop failure due to sustained torrential rains in September.
Clem’s Purple. Many rotted.
Giant Red Tarka. Many rotted.
Tuscarora Bread. Many of them rotted. The survivors are spectacular large plump bright red and cream shellies in long pods. Many are over an inch long.

Runner Bean
Bond’s Orcas Lima. 10/5 collected pods for seed. 11/1 vines are still in good shape.

Pole Beans
Anellino Giallo black seed (6 in pots.) 8/11 some full size yellow fish hook shaped snaps. 9/13 some pods are purple and mature. 11/1 very mature and partially dry pods are still fine quality snaps. This is a very fine early and late wax bean.
Aunt Jean’s, snap eaten when plump and dry bean. 8/25 had a nice mess of plump snaps. 9/2 Seeds are maturing. Still fine snaps, no strings. They average 5 seeds per pod. 9/9 many pods are drying. 10/4 steamed up the last of the yellow and drying pods and they are still very good, tender and string free. Consider starting some July 1.
Black Simpson Greasy. (6 in pots.) These turned out to be a mixture of types. 8/11/13 some 5 inch greasy snaps on one plant. 9/24 collected a few drying pods. Need to be started in pots to save seeds. 10/5/13 Collected more pods for seed. Seeds are everything from black to brown and tan to cream and maroon.
Blue Greasy Grit. (6 in pots.) Tends to sprawl before it climbs. 8/4 plants are up to 4 feet diameter at the bases. 9/12 there are a few yellow pods. These must be started in pots. 9/24 These are tasty small full beans even when yellow. Not a true greasy bean. 10/5 collected pods for seed. Vines are in poor shape. The later yellow and even plump green pods are very fibrous.
Borlotto Solista (6 in pots.) 9/6/13 Many mature shellies. 9/17 many are drying. 9/21/13 picked them all. The long pods are easy to shell as shellies or dry beans.
Borlotto Stregonta. 8/29/13 Some mature shellies. 9/21/13 picked them all. The long pods are easy to shell as shellies or dry beans.
Doyce Chambers Greasy Cutshort snap. (6 in pots.) 8/11 some nice full size snaps. 8/25 they are well behind NCSLGC and other greasy beans. 9/24 collected a few drying pods. 10/13 vines and beans are in poor shape.
Emerite (6 in pots.) 7/18/13 first beans 7/23/13 very few beans. They were two weeks early in the hot June and July but the plants do not look good. 8/4 lots of snaps.
Fortex snap bean. First planting failed. Replanted about 6/15. 8/4 lots of snaps.
Gallahar snap. (6 in pots.) 9/6 huge, fat, 7 inch long round beans and 5/8 inches diameter. Not full yet but they do have strings and are good green beans. These are just huge fat green beans with good quality until they turn yellow. Then they are fine flavored full beans. It is worth the wait. They can mature here direct seeded but it is necessary to start some in pots for seed saving. 10/24 last of the edible beans are still delicious.
Hazzard Fall Bean. (12 in pots.) Appears to be the same as Red Eye Greasy. DW likes them as mature full beans. 10/30 used the last of them. Even the half dry ones were good.
Holy Bean. Dry bean. Not the same as Red Eye Greasy. 8/17 a few starting to fill and the snaps are chewy. 9/12 some are drying. 9/22 the yellow pods are stringy and fibrous. The 5/8+ inch shellies hold their color when cooked. They have firm texture. Very hard to shell at shelly stage.
Kentucky Wonder Wax. 7/1 very small plants, not climbing.
Leslie Tenderpod. Appears to be same as Red Eye Greasy. Very fine flavor and tender. 9/16 the yellow pods are a bit chewy and not as tender as Aunt Jean’s or Tobacco Worm. 11/1 used the last of them.
New Hampshire, shelly. 8/27 some mature shellies. 9/17 many are drying. Yield was low, pods are short and hard to shell at shelly stage. Shellies are very large and plump and tasty.
North Carolina Speckled Long Greasy Cutshort, all in pots. 8/11 a few snaps. 8/25 several fully plump snaps. They may be the most mature of the greasies. 9/3 large numbers of them are very fat and full size. Some have maroon streaks. 9/12 a few are yellow. 10/2 the vines are in great shape still. 10/5 collected pods for seed. 10/19 Vines and beans are in good shape. 11/1 beans and vines appear to be dead.
Red Eye Greasy string-free early fall bean. (12 in pots.) 6/15 the first bean to climb. 7/5/13 first vine over the top of the trellises and two additional climbing vines. 7/14/13 up to 8 total vines so far. 7/24/13 Countless vines, a new one from each leaf base. 8/4 very heavy top foliage and vines must be 10 feet. 8/15 first snaps. 9/14 pods that are turning yellow are a bit chewy. 9/24 collected a few drying pods. Should to be started in pots to save seeds. 9/30 Many are still all green and very fine. 10/5/13 collected mature seeds. 10/13 Vines and beans are in good shape. 10/28 those that were directed seeded are still usable. Only slight chewiness. DW likes them too. They are hardy enough to produce quality beans later than most.
Selma Star snap. 7/15 very tiny and feeble plants just starting to climb. 8/25 a nice mess from the one producing plant. 6-8 inch round ¼ inch diameter tasty pods. Shorter version of Fortex.
Tennessee Greasy (mix) 8/11 some 5 inch snap. 8/25 some huge plump snaps from . Some small purple snaps. They are not greasy but have good flavor and texture. 10/31 collected pods for seeds which are several different colors.
Tobacco Worm. All in pots. 8/17 some large snaps. 9/12 some are turning yellow with mature seeds. They do have strings. Even the yellow and partly dry pods are very tender. Fine flavor. DW loves them. 9/24 collected the few drying pods. Should be started in pots to save seeds. 10/2 torrential rains mostly killed the vines. They were the worst damaged of the beans. 10/7 used the last of the good beans.
White Simpson Greasy. Half in pots. 8/25 some large snaps, not filling yet. 9/10 many are full. 9/24 fine flavor and texture. Some should be started in pots to save seeds. 10/12 vines and beans are in good shape. 10/22 most are no longer usable.

Wow! Dick, You make me tired just reading all the work involved in your bean growing project. Sounds like you really got involved in growing all the different beans. But you had some good eating. I found out it is best to keep a record when growing new varieties.

Luther

Thanks for your observations Dick, since we live in similar climates I find them very helpful. Looking forward to next year's growing season :). Managed to get a fair bit of seed from the few varieties I did get planted, Selma Star, Gigandes, Seneca Speckled Egg, Barksdale & Monaco Musso Niriu.

Annette

I had a very good bean year, I start out with the very cold tolerant heirloom yellow wax bean Pisarecka Zlutoluske, planted out 4/15 and beginning to pick on 7/10, if I don't keep up with them at first they do get tough as they age but make nice shellies and dry out fast. I left the plants in and they did produce a small crop later.

Other beans planted out around 5/15, my favorite bush beans are Romano types; I'm partial to heirloom Yer Fasulyasi, with brown seeds. Marconi Nano is slightly behind with black seeds. These both will keep on producing beans until late in the season, like 10/15.

Pole beans- for earliness Grandma Robert's Purple pole, can be planted out around 5/15, or later in the summer for a fall crop, since they are fast to develop. Purple pods do get strings but are not fibrous.

New this year, I didn't have many seeds, Jembo Polish made very big flat pods, stringless, as early as 8/9 until 10/15 or so.

(New) North Carolina Speckled Long Greasy Cutshort, not many seeds to plant, seemed OK, a little more productive was Zelma Zesta, these both new.

(New) Wood's Mountain Crazy runner beans were productive, as well as a mystery pole bean with lavender pods and black seeds with white speckles. (New) Red Peanut (Ol Joe Clark) was fairly productive but rather more of a shelly, not sure if I want to grow it again. I also had a few mystery pole beans thrown in that might be hybrids, all welcome.

My biggest producer has been Runner beans, specifically Insuk's Wang Kong which have greater ability to set in hot weather, I grew (New) Blanco di Spagna and Sweet White Runner which set very poorly until cool weather in late summer and still setting now. I am going back to IWK next year. They can be planted out early, perhaps even 4/15, and yield heavily, if picked before the beans have developed much they are not fibrous, but get there when the seeds are fat, as do the white-seeded varieties.

Voles hit one bed very hard this year, even nipping the pole beans that were wrapped in foil for the first time. I think that bed is going to be squash next year. I give up. But changing to welded wire fencing on another bed ended the rabbit damage to seedlings. So in all a good year, lots of saved seeds.

I forgot to mention that Annelino Giallo, Uncle Steve, and Super Marconi all did well.

"(New) Wood's Mountain Crazy runner beans were productive..."

Runner? The ones I grew were bush.

This was a bad garden year for me. Because of heavy June rainfall, the rural garden (where I do most of my trials & preservation grow outs) didn't get planted until July... so all of the crops originally planned for there were not planted. My home plots dried out faster, so I got a few things planted there on time. Looking on the bright side, although I only used about 20% of my rural plot, I was able to cultivate it all summer to kill off most of the perennials, and the pest & disease pressure will be reduced next year.

- "Canon City", a pole shelly similar to "Bird Egg #3", but slightly smaller & earlier. My seed was getting pretty old (2005) but germination was still over 70%; glad it did well this year. Long flat pods as snaps, turning to mostly scarlet when the shellies were fully ripe. Harvested over 2 pounds of dry seed & several quarts of shellies.
- "Grandma Roberts Purple Pole", from a trade with Fusion in 2006... figured I better plant it before the seed died. Germination was over 50%. Good thing I finally got to try it, it is a great bean - thanks, Dar. :-) Straight, round purple pods with great flavor as snaps. I only ate a small sample, since it was a seed crop... but I didn't observe any strings in the young pods. These were also the last beans still producing; after I had picked the dry pods, the plants re-sprouted, and were just beginning to bear again when the frost came. This was a small planting in pots, to isolate them from my other beans. I harvested enough dry seed for a larger planting next year, when I plan to use them as my main snap.
- "Madeira" (pole). 2006 seed, had over 75% germination. This was the most vigorous pole bean grown this year, and was the first to produce dry seed. The seed is red-spotted like many large shellies, but has a pink background when dry. Although the shellies are large, I didn't like the flavor when I last grew them, and rated this as a soup bean. However, the DW loved them as shellies this year, so I guess it is a question of taste (I still didn't like them). The seed yield was very heavy; but much of the seed was deformed, which reduced the yield. One or two seeds in nearly every pod had a broken seed coat, and a 'stretched' appearance, almost like pulled taffy... very odd. The remaining seeds in those pods were normal. Even after heavy culling, there was still over 2 pounds of dry seed.
- "Tisa", a brown-seeded pole wax bean from Serbia. This was the youngest seed planted this year (2007) but had the worst germination, under 50%. Long, slightly flattened yellow pods, borne late. These were best picked as snaps before fully yellow, at which time they were still tasty, but developed strings. Very slow to develop seed, so I was glad the frost came late. Only ate one meal, and let the rest go for seed; harvested 1.5 pounds of dry seed.
- "Tenderette" (bush, Livingston Seed). I don't usually grow bush beans for snaps, but since I couldn't cultivate my rural plot until July, this was Plan B for snaps. Picked them up at a local garden store. Round pods that were similar to "Emerite" in quality, but shorter. Firm, sweet, and stringless even when the pods began to bulge. Plan B was successful, I was able to freeze enough green beans to last the winter... but don't like bending over while picking a 100-foot row. There was also a fairly high level of crossing in the seed; some plants with runners, some that were flat-podded, and some with short, round, fibrous pods. While I thought the variety had a lot of good qualities, there was a lot more instability than I would expect from commercial seed.
- Runner bean, "Tarahumara Tekomari". The source told me it originally came from Native Seeds / SEARCH. This appears to be a land race, with flowers that are either white or red, and seeds that are either white or "gray" (fine black spots over a white background). Red flowers / gray seeds made up the majority, and all the seed sent to me was gray. There was also considerable variation in seed size & shape. Although it flowered quickly, the summer heat was unbroken by a cool spell, and no pods set in the heat. Only during a 1-day drop in August, and the cooler days of September, did pods set. Because of this, the seed yield was disappointing, just over a pound from about 30' of row. There was also one plant which flowered late, and produced purple seeds; since the source did not experience this, I am assuming it was a cross, and will attempt to eliminate purple seeds from the strain. The one bright spot: because the killing freeze was 3 weeks late, I harvested a huge late crop of snaps & shellies. The immature shellies were delicious, as were the snaps.
- Lima, "Hopi Pole". 2008 seed, 100% germination. A mid-sized lima with multi-colored seeds; red, maroon, black (very dark red) brown, orange, and many combinations. This has always been a very late lima for me, pushing against the frost for dry seed, and dying with many pods unripened... but it did spectacularly well this year. It bloomed much earlier than my previous two attempts, and nearly all seed ripened. Harvested about 3.5 pounds of dry seed, and froze 6 quarts of shellies. I gave away a lot of "Hopi Pole" at the Berea, Kentucky get together, it was the most requested seed... so hopefully it will be more widespread in the future.
- Yardlong bean, "Taiwan Black" (reference to the seed color). 2005 seed, germination erratic, but eventually 98%! Very long, slim, light green pods, with a mild flavor. Originally from Baker Creek, but they have since dropped it - as has everyone in SSE who had listed it - so its status is precarious. I had nearly dropped it myself, before finding that it was no longer commercially available & adding it back into the rotation. Fortunately, the seed crop went well, harvested over a pound of seed.
- Yardlong, "Chinese Long Green". A red-seeded heirloom sent to me in trade. Very long, dark green pods with firm texture & good flavor. Like "Hopi Pole" lima, this had been a very long DTM cultivar for me previously - but not this year. It produced a heavy crop early, and kept going for most of the summer. The only setback was some leaf yellowing & stunting early, which was likely caused by herbicide spray from the neighboring property.

Also grew two peas for seed, "Shiraz" (purple snow pea, swap from Aftermidnight) and "Opal Creek Golden Snap" (from Peace Seeds), as well as 6 soybeans for seed. The soybeans really benefited from the late freeze, all ripened. There was no vole damage to dry seed this year, as there has been in recent years. A ground hog had one meal of soybeans & "Shiraz" peas early in the season, but I trapped it on its next visit. At least its last meal was a good one, before it became a meal for my resident falcons.

Since I was on 12 hour days for much of the summer, my time was very limited, and I didn't track dates & take measurements to the extent I did in previous years. I did, however, continue my multi-year observations of seed longevity... which have thus far shown that beans can have a shelf life far beyond what is stated in many references, with only modest precautions.

As I have mentioned on other threads, my job has been cutting further into my free time every year - especially during the summer. There are signs that may change soon, under new management. I hope so, as I am way behind in my grow outs... and there are so many beans yet to try. ;-)

Charlie,

An old yearbook describes Pigott Family Heirloom as shades of gray to gray-tan with speckles.

I believe I have the correct one. The coloring varies from very light tan, to light tan, to a medium reddish tan, all having brown speckles. Usually about 14 seeds per pod.

A very early bush type, some years with some runners, some without.

Gary

Here's my 2013 Bean Report:
We had an early Spring and strong warm summer this year so it was great for bean growing...my fault was keeping up with the watering! My plot receives steady south-westerly winds which do lower the air temps significantly. I was trialling many new varieties for production and flavour in my micro-climate, as well as comparing bush and pole varieties.

BEANS:
Crimson Flowered Fava - Love these for flavour and colour; dwarf size prevents wind breakage; always reliable
Witkiem Manita Fava - 5 days earlier; dwarf size with very large pods of white beans; tasted a few-no bitterness

Beurre de Rocquencourt (Bush) - High production; irregular shaped pods were short, skinny and curvy, with fantastic flavour
Dragon's Tongue (Bush) - High production and excellent flavour; can use at any stage; favourite
Blue Jay (Bush) - Didn't grow well for me-low production; perhaps were shaded
Roma II (Bush Romano) - Excellent production; very vigerous growth with some vining; didn't prefer pod texture or flavour

Neckargold (Pole) - High producing; long yellow oval pods that start out green; good flavour--almost as good as Beurre de Rocquencourt
Soissons Blanc (Pole) - High producing; flat pod gets light purple stripes when shellies ripe and easily dries down pale; beans taste better than cannellinis and are shaped like a flattened kidney. I thought this was supposed to be similar to Soissons Vert as the description listed seeds as pale green, but it was more likely 'Haricot Blanc de Soisson', similar to Tarbais. Really nice dry bean.
Emerite (Pole) - Terrible growth and almost no production; from reliable seed source so don't know?
Garafal Oro (Pole Romano) - Medium production; better pod texture/taste than Roma II
Val's Italian Borlotto (Pole) - High producing and tasty; when ready pod turns white with heavy, bright red streaks; shelling; from local seed trade
Unknown Horticultural (Pole) - Moderate production; pod turns almost completely red with few streaks of green remaining; fleshy and tasty snap. From local seed trade--Matches Jeminez.

Desiree Runner (white-flower) - Absolutely my new favorite for snaps and shelled! Very long, slightly curved pods; lighter green and bit bumpy/fleshy but not hairy; Quite sweet flavour and tender. Very productive and never developed strings or fiber; 5-6 huge, meaty white seeds inside
Samos Greek Lima Runner (white-flower) - Medium production; short pods fill fast but often only contained 1-3 large seeds. Typical runner pod that is slightly hairy, fibrous and wasn't worth eating
Ladi Di Runner (red-flower) - Second choice if I wanted red flowers and no shelled seeds; Productive, long green pod with curved ends; smooth with no strings; tasty
Red Rum Runner (red-flower) - These were supposed to be similar to Lady Di but earlier; I found pods took longer to develop even though earlier so producton was much less; however they were long and straight dark green pods; smooth with sweet taste

PEAS:
Green Arrow (Dwarf Shelling) - High production; all seed pods uniform length; peas sweet and delicious flavour; no disease
Tall Telephone/Alderman (Tall Shelling) - Excellent vigor in early cold and rain with no seed rot; all developed fungal? disease at flowering stage; low production; pods size was inconsistent; large, delicious peas, sweet flavour, and almost buttery
Cascadia (Dwarf Snap) - Had rot issues; plants grew 3-4 feet; I enjoyed the thicker, crunchy and stringless pods, but not as sweet as Sugar Snap
Sugar Snap (Tall Snap) - Somewhat tolerant of early cold and rain; plants grew 6-7 feet; thinner pods with unmatched sweetness; develops fine string eventually
Mangetout Carouby de Maussane (Tall Snow) - Mildly tolerant of early cold and rain; very vigorous and healthy plants, crunchy tender pod even with swelled seed; sweeter when young; beautiful flowers

So now that I've narrowed down some good standards, I have room to try more in 2014!
Tatiana

This post was edited by miss_tati on Thu, Mar 6, 14 at 8:51