I have over 200 varieties in my collection, some are still stored in the fridge but I'm slowly moving everything other than the ones I'm growing this year into a small freezer bought for just this.

What I have done is take pictures of the different stages, bean pods, shellies and the seed when dry. These I keep in an album on my computer. I thought of making a show and tell board with small compartments but as beans age they change color and it's hard to see what they actually look like.

An example

Fresh dry seed grown from the ones above.

Annette

I think I may build a spice rack sort of thing only larger to hold many pint sized jars. that is what i have pictured in my head anyway.

On another note, trading seeds on Gardenweb used to be very exciting but since the takeover there is no way of searching for a specific variety or specific anything for that matter. Is anyone still using this site for their main source of trading? not just for beans, peas and legumes but for anything in general. I used to love to trade but find it so difficult on this site that I pretty much gave up over here. Thanks for the input to my original Q.

Piper, if there is a particular bean you are looking for just ask, someone here might be able to help you out. Some members have trade lists on their members page, just click on their avatar to see if they have one. Other than that there's this http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/the-seed-exchange hope this helps.

I am never interested in a specific variety, when I trade I usually like to trade at least 50 varieties and it was way easier when garden web was around. houzz has ruined even the seed trading aspect of a once very good website.

A brief departure off topic, but the point mentioned by Podpiper echoes my own concerns, and is worthy of discussion.

Pod, I can't disagree with your sentiments re: trading. Although I am still active in SSE, Gardenweb has always been the hub of my online trading activity... in fact, it was a web search for a particular variety which first brought me to Gardenweb. That search directed me to someone's Exchange Page.

Over the years, I've traded heavily on Gardenweb, with a lot of generous, enthusiastic gardeners. My primary interest is preservation of endangered varieties, and the high level of trading on Gardenweb supported that mission. Witness what happened with the family heirlooms which became Insuk's Wang Kong, and Woods Mountain Crazy bean (both of which originated from members of this forum), which were heavily traded, and have since been offered commercially. This forum performs a great service.

Since the change of ownership, the reduction in activity, and in enthusiasm, has been noticeable, and is quite disappointing. Trading has slowed to a trickle, with very few inquiries. Some who approached me for trades in the past found my exchange list while searching the Web for a variety, and I wondered if the Houzz exchange lists were now hidden... but fortunately, those lists still appear to be public. A brief search for some of the varieties I offer returned with my exchange list as one of the results.

A lot of good people chose to leave Gardenweb when it changed hands, many of whom were very knowledgeable, and had large collections. Their presence here is sorely missed, and their departures no doubt contributed to the overall reduction in activity - including trades. It is my hope that the membership here eventually builds up to that point again.

I do wish that there was a "search exchange lists" function somewhere, I think that would generate more trade activity.

Trading seeds for me was just as enjoyable as the whole gardening process and could not wait for the time after the harvest was over to hit the search members list button. I too am one of those members who rarely even comes on this site anymore it is sad because this used to be the best gardening website on the planet.

My very first trades came from this site and I have accumulated varieties in the thousands of pepper seeds alone. I do occasionally come back when I have a specific question that I would like to ask but having to click on each members profile just is exhausting

I believe zeedman that you are the very first one to pass along bean seeds to me and the offer of pepper and tomato seeds is always open to you.

Sorry too for going off from my original post.

I don't think I have ever traded, or even owned, 50 varieties at a time, but I do agree that the trading aspect of this website has been greatly diminished. I have been gone for several years (real life issues) but I'm trying to get back this year, and learn the new website and system. I find it a lot more confusing and I also find that a lot of the older names that I once knew don't seem to be around anymore. Some are, but not too many. Posting is down, trading is way down. This website was my primary tool for learning, chatting, and trading ... I would love to be able to search member's trade lists instead of posting, and I would also love if the messaging system (which is a good idea, in theory) was easier to use (I can't tell if I have new messages, or if I have replied to an old one etc). Hopefully some new changes ... and hopefully some more traffic once summer, and planting time, rolls around :) There was, and still is, so much knowledge on these message boards. I agree with everything said above, and I hope that membership builds up again. I still have a lot to learn, and this used to be one of the best places to come for answers :)

It will never go back to what it was. There are numerous new websites and a lot of the old GW members are on all of those forums and i do not see them coming back ever. The new websites are designed for exactly what they claim. this site is about home improvement. As far as the trading aspect goes I think it was purposely done by this site. I wonder if Monsanto is a big backer of this site……Hmmmmmm.

anyone trading some of their bean seeds? i'm fairly new to growing beans (pole) this is my second year and i'm still learning and improving from my last year mistakes. primarily interested in pole beans since i don't have a lot of ground area for bush. i'm particularly interested in thin/long string beans. i don't have much in terms of beans to trade since i'm just starting out, but i have other veggies in my trading list if you might be interested in something. the pole beans i have already are the most common: Blue lake, Kentucky wonder and Rattlesnake. send me a message if interested.