In general, beans are not likely to cross, but I remember George saying the last year or two that he's had more crossing recently than ever before.

I guess the proper way to say it is that beans are self-pollinating and do not cross easily, but bees and other pollinators can sometimes carry pollen from one to another and cause cross-pollination. There is one bean type that crosses and I think it is the runner bean, but they only cross with other runner beans. So, if you wanted to save seed from a runne bean, you'd need a half-mile isolation between two different types, or you could bag or use window screen type cages.

Now, while you are lying in bed contemplating starting your day over, I'll drag out my copy of Seed to Seed, and we'll see what Suzanne Ashworth says....hold on while I get the book...oh, wait, you don't have to hold on. You're lying there in bed starting over again while I'm doing all the work. : )

Suzanne says: "Leguminosae flowers are self-pollinating, but are occasionally crossed by honeybees and other insects. The flowers usually open between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m.and never close. The anthers "dehisce" (shed pollen) the evening before the flowers open. The pollen does not usually get transferred to the stigma until the flower is disturbed or tripped, usually by the wind. Insects, especially bees, also visit the flowers and can cause some degree of cross-pollination." How's that?

So, for seed-saving purposes, she goes on to say, Leguminosae seed may require isolation, bagging or caging depending on the following factors: the larger the flower, the more likely it is to be visited by bumble bees and/or honey bees. Wherever more desirable pollens are available, the bees are more likely to visit them instead of your legumes. Insects that have smooth bodies are less efficient at carrying pollen so are less likely to cause cross-polliantion, and the insects that chew through the sides of the flowers to reach the nectar likely will not come into contact with pollen and transfer it.

All common beans that are Phaseolus vulgaris, as I believe your listed varieties are, are indeed inbreeding, so perfect and self-pollinating, but she says refer back to the items I listed above when decided how to maintain seed purity. She says at the very least, don't plant two types of beans right side by side, and certainly do not plant brown seed next to brown seed or white seed next to white seed. Instead, alternate plantings by seed color to make it easier for you to tell visually if crossing has occurred.

I looked back and couldn't find anywhere on the Legume Family page where she specified a crossing distance, but since she recommends 1/2 mile for runner beans, that might be what is requied. If it were me, I'd just bag 'em. : )

Maybe George will see this and link his bean-crossing post.

You know, if you'd just let them all cross with one another you could inadvertently end up with a bean you could name something like: Cooper's Tennessee Old Time Greasy Trail of Kentucky Wonder beans.

I looked for George's old thread but couldn't find it, not even with a Google search, but I found an interesting thread on the topic of bean crossing and I've linked it below for your reading pleasure.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: A Bean Forum Thread About Bean Crossing

Dawn, you're a saint! Thank you!!

I still can't find my book but I did manage to find my copy of George's "Saving Your Own Bean Seed", along with a thread I JUST found. I"ll link it below for others.

Ya know, I really should have re-read this stuff BEFORE I planted my beans yesterday... Ah, well. Next year, I'm going to use George's method of using isolated tripods for seed-saving purposes. For this year, I guess I'll just suck it up and bag.

Thanks again, Dawn. :-)

Diane

Here is a link that might be useful: Another bean forum thread

Diane,

You're welcome. I'm glad you found George's previous thread too. I'm going to save it on my computer so I'll have it next time someone is looking for it.

You know, it IS almost always a good idea to ask the appropriate questions before you plant instead of after! lol

Dawn

I just bought a copy of Seed to Seed and received it yesterday so had read that very part last night. I read it then chuckled a little because when we had this discussion before, we talked about all of the possible things we could do to not get a cross. When we had exhausted everything, George said that crossing wasn't necessarily a bad thing. I decided at that point that I wasn't going to worry about it.

If I were a big seed saver tho, I would likely create a small patch where I could plant one cuke, a few beans, a melon, etc. and grow them out just for seed instead of trying to remember to NOT pick them in the garden. On some plants leaving the fruit to mature will reduce the yield from the plant anyway, so it seems logical to me to have a 'seed bank' away from the normal garden. That way you could replenish one type of seed each year from each type plant. I don't really worry about tomatoes. Does anyone have a special area for seed saving?

Carol, I think I might do just that next year -- a whole area devoted to seed saving of certain things, like cukes, melons, beans, etc. Dang, that's a good idea, especially if I'm only going to grow one variety of each for saving each year, assuming it has enough distance/barriers from the main garden. I could set up a mini-garden in the front yard, opposite the house from the main garden. Hm, must give this more thought.

I wouldn't worry much about the beans or some other things but for the fact that I love to save seeds and share them with others. That's a huge part of gardening for me. I was just thinking about that the other day when I flagged down a random road crew guy grading our road and gave him a big bag of lettuce I'd just cut. As much as I love feeding our family from the garden and just watching things grow, I love sharing the produce and seeds/plants just as much, maybe even more. I'm not a talker, I'm not a hugger, I don't even particularly like being around people. I am, in fact, rather anti-social and would be happiest living as a hermit. (With internet access. Ahem.) I think gardening is my physical connection to the human race, in lieu of the normal stuff.

Blah, blah, blah. I need the stupid rain to stop so I can quit babbling and just get back outside already.

Diane