Rodger,

I'm floored by what you showed. Just amazing, your dedication and ambition in growing beans. Thanks.

Jim

Beautiful, Rodger! What a nice selection and they are doing so well. The Georgia house lima is interesting, looks like you discovered a unique heirloom. Has anyone ever seen that long of a bloom stem? Hope they all load up with seed.

I'm also very glad to see them setting beans under the netting. Looks like the cross pollination problem has been solved. Thats good news!

Great pictures Rodger! Our beans are just starting to produce and Ruth Bible hasn't got any beans large enough to pick. I'm very curious as to how the pods of Ruth Bible, Tennessee Cutshort and Childer's compare. Looks like you can do a side-by-side now.

Hum, looks perhaps that at least part of my problem with Black Greasy, last summer, was that it was so cotton pickin dry here. Interestingly though, I had a couple of Tennessee Cutshort volunteers come up on the northern side of a shed, in the same garden where I grew Black Greasy last year. I decided to give them poles, and they have grown VERY TALL and lush... with no flowers at all; just like Black Greasy did last year (and only about 15 feet from where they were). On the other hand, Tennessee Cutshort, in my main garden, this year, started blooming by the time the vine reached 3 1/2 feet, on cattle panel supports.

I didn't get my Black Greasies planted until the last week of May, and a second planting during the second week of June. But they are in an entirely new location and I'm hoping they produce normally.

This is exciting!

George
Tahlequah, OK

It seems I'm not the only late owl or early riser. I was hoping to hoe out some peas this morning but we are having a slow rain this morning. We have had 5 years of drought and 10 years of below normal rainfall and from mid Feb. till first weekend in June we only had 1 1/4 inches of rain and temps of mid 90's. I was thinking I was going to have to give up on the garden this year. I do have drip irrigation but nothing makes things grow like a good ol rain and we have been getting lots this month.I am thankful. George the test beans are doing good. I have made some good observations. Your Tenn cutshort and Childers started to bloom the same day, but did not set pods until two weeks ago I believe due to the rain. Temps have been in the mid 90's and 85% humidity. The Ruth bible started blooming a week later. All have set pods and I have been picking halve of each row to see how long each will produce and how much. I think Ruth Bible is a different bean. The pods are darker green and I believe there is some past crossing in the seed because some plants have longer pods. They also have more seed in a pod and not quite as wide. Here is a picture

It is interesting about the rain. The White hull pink tip bean, Rattle snake pole and goose bean have been producing in the dry heat while all the others only have bloomed and they get plenty of water through a drip irrigation system I have on them. Now with almost daily evening thunder storms I have a real good pod set on all the beans and even in the caged beans. I have 12 common beans planted 7 under netting one at another location. The others 4 in my garden have more than 50ft distance from each other plus plenty of pollinating plants in between. I have 9 Limas planted with 6 under netting and two in my garden open and one at a period garden I grow elsewere. I have 16 field peas planted 9 under netting The others are three plantings of 2 each about a month apart to provide time isolation and they still have some distance isolation as well. I have some more peas and beans I plan to plant but will all depend on how the weather keeps up and mainly how I keep up. I would like to add my son is getting married this Sat. He is 24 and they have dated since 9th grade and have been officially engaged for 3 years. I only recently found out they had planned to wed on 7-7-7 back in high school and that is what they have been waiting on. Well I need to try and do something today even with the rain. I will post some more pictures later.And if any of ya'll can make it make plans to attend the AHSC this oct and/or the Heritage festival sponsered by Southern Exposure Seed Exchange at Monticello Virginia on 8 Sept. I will have a watermelon called stone Mountain I am growing out for tasting at monticello and I hope to reintroduce the variety in one of the heirloom seed companies. Rodger

Here is a link that might be useful: Heritage Fall festival

Rodger, that is one beautiful batch o' beans! Great job! Great info, too; you have saved me several years of experimentation. I will be trying your techniques in years to follow (starting next year for limas), hopefully they will work as well for me.

You have successfully answered two nagging questions of mine; whether common beans can be grown under screen without disease problems (they can), and whether limas will self-pollinate under cover (they will). Only time will tell, I suppose, if that holds true for all varieties, and in all locations.

One more question remains. Have you ever tried growing runner beans using this method? I seem to remember you mentioning that you had trouble getting seed from them... perhaps they would benefit from the cooler temps within the cages, and set pods. I am also curious as to whether or not they would self-pollinate, without the action of insects. If I can get some screen on mine before they bloom, I'll put that to the test this year.

Best wishes to your son, Rodger... and to you.

I have not had much success with runner beans. I have seed and intend to try a fall crop this year, But I believe it is just too hot and humid in SC for runners. I have read reports on runners needing pollinators. So I'm not sure how the covers would work. This should'nt be a problem for me since I will probably only grow one and that is the Sadies horse bean. When I took the pictures we had an early afternoon shower then the sun came out and the humidity was about unbearable. All the beans in the pictures are under netting except for the Black greasy, Ruth Bible, Tenn Cutshort and Childers for the common beans and obviuosly the two rows of Lynches BBs. Inside the netting was enough to dampen some of the hot direct mid day sun so it felt cooler but no air was stirring and it was humid and stuffy inside. I didn't take a temp reading but unless I measure humidity and take that into account temp along does'nt mean much. Either case I would believe if disease has been a problem it may still exist. The temp difference is only a couple of degrees between inside and out. I have not noted any issues associated with the netting and as you can see there has been a good pod set. the limas are just now blooming so the verdict is not fully in even though it looks good since I am seeing pods and I have done this before and had pods.
Happy day on the long bloom stems. Some consider limas the large seeded beans and the small seeded types Butter Beans. To me they are all Butter beans. But I mention this because the large seeded types have a longer bloom stem but this variety is much longer than any I can remember growing and I like it. The bloom stems stick out from the vine exposing the seed pods which will make them much easier to pick. I am looking forward to seeing mature seed on this variety. Rodger

Started harvesting the first bean seeds. Picked nearly a 1/2 bushel of each. Not bad for starting out with only 8 plants.
Netting removed

Close up redstriped greasy

Picked beans

White hull pink tip

picked beans

Rodger, thanks for the great pics of your beans and beautiful, sunny garden.

Would you mind telling us what kind of fabric you use for your cages? And where you buy it? Links would be great. The fabric looks extremely fine-meshed and, I guess, would keep even the tiniest no-see 'um pollinators out.

I'd like to learn about caging, so I could begin to save seeds next year.
Thanks for your information.

They look great! I'm envious. :)

Just wanted to bump this up, since there have been several questions recently relating to keeping beans pure for seed saving. Rodger's success with caging is inspirational; I hope to utilize his methods for growing pure seed of several heirloom limas.

Rodger, I hope you'll keep those updates coming. ;-)

The butterpeas I have make those long flower stems. They will over the season become like small pencils in thickness. The stem grows slowly and blooms a few clusters at a time. They produce up to the fall and by the end of the season have strong long stems.

Thanks for bumping this thread, zeedman. I'm enjoying it all over again. Rodger is amazing.

Jim

Jim your too kind. Hopefully I will be able to post some pics this year.My camera broke last fall and I have not bought a new one yet. I can still use the old one the switch that turns it on and takes the picture broke but I can work around that but it is a pain. I have Just started this years garden, set out 245 Heirloom tomatoes. This weather has been unusually cool but we are at least having some rains. I can not do another drought like we had last year. My garden this year will be limited on the legumes. I grow seed for Heirloom seed companies and all my space is under contract this year. I do however have a good assortment of beans to grow out. Those in the Virginia area. Southern exposure seeds is planning to hold the secound annual fall festival at Monticello this Sept. I attended last year and have been ask to do a presentation on Heirloom beans, It would be nice to meet some of you folks. I will try to join in on the discussions here and elsewhere after things settle down and the garden is in. Rodger

Splurge on a new camera, Rodger. I just did. You make good use of your camera, so I wouldn't consider it a luxury.

Digital cameras have improved since the last time I bought one. There are some very good ones for not much money.

Jim

Here is a link that might be useful: Digital Camera Reviews