Did you purchase the Kwintus seed? It couldn't have been a cross in this year's growing season, but rather in last year's. You can plant the brown seed and select what you like best in following years. Usually a cross like this will have some variability for a couple of years. But I've had them breed true right off.

George

Glenda,

I am not a bean expert, but I grow them and know a little bit about them. You'll have to wait for George to get the best answer. : )

Beans can cross-pollinate. It is very rare that you see cross-pollination in bush beans, but much more common in pole beans.

Here's how I think it works. If you planted a white-seeded bean and then it cross-pollinates with a brown-seeded bean (could be from your place but could be from a nearby garden), your F-1 generation of saved seed would look normal but then could give you a variety of seed when planted and grown out. Thus, some of the first generation from saved seed could give you white-seeded beans and some could give you brown-seeded ones.

I think in order to give you the best answer, George will need to know if you used commercially purchased seed or if you saved your own Kwintus seeds or got your Kwintus seeds from another seed saver. And, if you had a brown-seeded bean growing at the same time that the seed was saved from the white-seeded bean, that would be helpful to know too.

People who grow a lot of bean varieties but do not have barriers between them often will alternate beans of another color and will keep careful records. That way, if a white seeded bean that is saved gives an 'off' type/color the next year, it is easy to look back and see what bean grew close to it that was not a white-seeded bean.

On the other hand, if you grew 3 kinds of pole beans and they all bloom at the same time and they all produce white seed, if they crossed and you had off-types, you wouldn't know which 2 (or 3) of the beans crossed to produce them since they all are white-seeded.

Sometimes, if you have crossed seed, you'll see the foliage of the 'off' plants doesn't look quite right. Sometimes the flowers look 'off'. If you catch them at that time, you can rogue them out if you're trying to keep your seed pure. Sometimes you get a pleasant surprise and your crossed bean is worth keeping and growing, as you have found.

I do love Cherokee Trail of Tears. Not only is it lovely, but it tastes great.

If you want to save bean seed, the only way I know to guarantee purity is to only grow one type or bag the blossoms. Some folks who grow multiple varieties don't see much, if any, corssing and others see a lot. I bet George doesn't bag blossoms (he's too busy). Some folks plant barricades or use distance isolation but neither guarantees 100% pure seed.

I think one reason we have thousands of bean varieties out there is because the pole beans do cross so easily.

Dawn

Ah, I see George snuck in and posted his short answer while I was typing a longer one. LOL

That's what I was thinking that it wouldn't show up until next year from a cross this time.

They were purchased seeds carried over from last season and purchased from Park Seed Co. So far, they are the only place I have found that carries them.

Last year they were the only bean I planted and I saved no seeds.

This year I tried a few Haricort Vert bush and just the few Cherokee Trail of Tears and the brown seeded Ky Wonder on the sweet corn. They were so crowded I am just letting them go to seed too. They were a bit stringy when at the shellie stage (that's what Mom called them ' shellie beans').

Glenda

Then it was a cross on the part of Park's supplier. I bet you have but one vine producing this off type. Crosses happen. One of the best squashes I ever grew was from Thompson & Morgan. It was a cross and not to be repeated. That's what got me into hand pollination.

No, I don't bag my bean blossums! But I've found that 15 to 20 feet of distance between varieties, and planting varieties in blocks, really works well. As Dawn mentioned, it also helps to grow very distinct seeded types in the closest proximity and most similar as far apart as possible.

I'm trying to cross two beans. This is my second season of inter-planting them. We'll see when we get a cross. I've had more crosses with bush beans. But then, I haven't seen any bean crosses since the mid 90s.

George

George do think mixed seeds is possible? I've had that on tomato seeds. Where part of them were one variety and some another. I figured someone wasn't paying attention. But when planted in the following year both grew true to what they were the year before so feel certain they weren't a cross. Jay

George, I have these round podded ones all along the row, hanging at both ends of the hoop house.

So it was a lot more seeds than just one.

Be interesting to see what the brown seeded ones produce next year.

To keep distance I would have to do two hoop frames which might be a good idea anyway for more space.

You guys are an education for me. I have gardened since the 1970's and didn't realize that beans would cross! I guess if you don't save seeds it doesn't matter.

If there are a good many of these off type plants then I doubt that it was just a cross. But then, I don't know what it might have been. Would you have planted a seed which was a different color and not noticed? I've been assuming that all the seed which went into the ground was white. If you didn't pay attention to the seed color, when you planted, then I'd check the catalog to see what bean the company sells, which would fit the description. This wouldn't be fool proof, since most seed companies get their seed from suppliers who may grow for their own use or for other companies as well.

You could grow only one kind on the hoop frame and the one you have less interest in, on bean tepees or poles.

Some crosses aren't worth keeping. In fact, I suspect that most aren't superiour. But now and then a really good one shows up.

I picked something like 8 gallons of beans yesterday. We were snapping and stringing till fairly late and still have a lot to do.

Is it possible that some could have come from an earlier planting, or were dry ones from last years plants that fell there?

I hadn't thought about seed from last year.....but I only grew Kwintus last year. These mysteries drive me crazy/crazier!

I definitely will be growing the Trail of Tears and the new brown one....don't think I will do Kwintus again.

Glenda,

Re: "These mysteries drive me crazy/crazier!"

Well, of course they do. That is why we all are crazy here. Welcome to the garden lunatic club. :)

Maybe we are the sane ones and it is the rest of the world that's crazy.

Dawn

It's been many years since I grew KY Wonder. Could this brown seeded bean be that?

I have a few on the cornstalks; I will compare.

But remember in this row I only planted white bean seeds.................

Glenda, Do you remember if you had a brown-seeded bean in that row last year? I have had a bean pod fall to the ground, survive the winter, and sprout where it shouldn't during the following growing season. This is the only possibility that makes sense to me other than crossed seed from the supplier. I just know in my heart you definitely would have noticed if you had brown beans mixed in with the white ones when you planted.

Dawn

Dawn, the thing is up until this year, I have only grown Kwintus from Park Seed Co. Nary another bean on the place.
I am thinking some of their white Kwintus beans had to have other genes in them this year. I won't bother to contact them. I have never had a satisfactory reply from any company regarding their seed. Park is especially weak in the customer service area.

I understand. I remember how fervently I wanted to find out about that unknown squash. I wrote Thompson and Morgan with nary a reply. So different from some of the more recent, smaller companies.

Glenda,

Well, that pretty much does sum it up if you haven't had any other beans on the place.

I agree about Park customer service. I haven't purchased from them in several years now and the only time I do so is if I want something for which they are the exclusive supplier

George, I do think the smaller companies are so much better about customer service, and they also still care about whether their seed is true to type. I hope that doesn't change as the small companies grow and turn into larger companies.

Dawn