One of my contacts came through, found them in a Polish deli ? down island from me, now to see if we can get any to germinate.

Good to hear that you found them so quickly, and so close; I hope they prove to be viable. Do they resemble any other white seeded runner beans you have seen?

Zeedman, I haven't got them yet, she's going to either put them in the mail or on the bus on Monday. She's going to keep some for herself and send the rest to me so I'll have lots for a germination test, if no luck I can always cook them :). I'll post a picture along side some Gigandes for comparison. From what she said it looks like the deli buys them in bulk and repackages them, it's the only dry bean they carry and the sign said they were "Piekny Jas".

Annette

"From what she said it looks like the deli buys them in bulk and
repackages them, it's the only dry bean they carry and the sign said
they were "Piekny Jas"."

Buying in bulk... if the deli sells that many, they must be good. ;-)

The gal in the UK who found and sent me "Sarah's Old Fashioned Black" was asking if I knew anything about them. She had someone ask her if she had or knew anything about them. This is what she told me...

"Someone's gardener came to visit me to ask questions re growing various vegetables. She said her boss' wife is Serbian and she always remembered this bean Piekny Jas as it has a thin skin and absorbs flavours well. She knew the bean came from Poland"

Now she's on the hunt for them too, If she can't find them over there, I'll send her some, that is if I get them to germinate. I'll keep a few for myself and spread the rest around. I think I'm turning into a Johnny Bean Seed, not able to plant much anymore but I can still stir it up and spread them around LOL.

Annette

Update.... I now have some Piekny Jas beans to play with, she sent a lot so I can do quite a few germination tests, hopefully a few will germinate. My Gigandes seed is stored in the freezer so had to take a few from my cooking jar to compare, these aren't my biggest Gigandes but still a good size.

Gigandes on the left, on the right a few of the bigger Piekny Jas she sent.

The gal that sent them to me finally got one to germinate, maybe she has more by now after a few trys, who knows how old these beans are.

Annette

The Jas beans from my local polish deli are much smaller this year than the ones from several years ago. Almost twice as small.

In your pic, the ones on the right kind of look like limas, in shape.

Tormato, I don't grow limas so have nothing to compare with, is it a runner or is it a lima ? This link says Piekny Jas is a runner.

https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/en/ark-of-taste-slow-food/dunajec-valley-piekny-jas-beans/

On the other hand we don't know what these delis throw in the mix. Here's a picture of the smallest beans in the bunch I have. I think I'm going to go through quite a few to get one or two to germinate. I'll keep trying.

A gal on another forum has a packet of Pieky Jas seed coming from overseas so hopefully we'll have the real deal.

Annette

I tried something different this time, I gave them a soak overnight and then put them on a piece of paper towel dampened with a drop of fertilizer, placed this in a clear plastic bag on the kitchen counter. I did this on the 12th. this morning I see 2 or 3 have germinated so will pot them up. Each day I take them out and rinse them off, spray with a little water and a drop of fertilizer. Since this seems to be working I'm trying this method with some other old seed.

From that first batch, I only got one to germinate, 2nd try none. The third try I did it a little different, this time I didn't soak the seed first just rinsed with a little peroxide in the water, let them dry and then placed them on the dampened paper towel. Turned once or twice a day and just a spritz of water sprayed in the bag to keep the humidify up. Blew some air in the bag to tent it, it's sitting on the kitchen counter where it gets lots of light. Did this on Sunday the 15th. five days later 2 of the beans have germinated so they are planted in pots on the windowsill. I guess I was keeping the others too wet. I changed the paper towel for a fresh one, maybe I'll get one or two more to germinate.

I heard this morning the gal who ordered the real deal from overseas has them now and she is sending me a sample so I should be able to do a comparison. The first one I potted up hasn't popped through yet, have my fingers crossed it's not a lima, all is not lost if it is we'll just eat them :).

Annette

If they are limas, there would be faint striations (lines) in a fan shape on the two sides of the bean. If smooth, they are runners.

If my memory serves me correctly (the older I get the more it may not), the local Polish deli, here, has sold bags of runners as Piekny Jas and bags of limas as Jas. The name of the company on the bags was something like Brooklyn Imports.

I have about 500 grams of Piekny Jas to play with this year. I always get flowers, but most years it's near 100% blossom drops. :(

Tormato, even with a magnifying glass it's not very clear, we'll know for sure if the cotyledons pop through before true leaves.

The last method I used seems to be the best way, all but 3 have sprouted and are now in pots. I put them on a heat mat to hurry things along. The suspense is killing me, are they limas or runners LOL.

Tormato, blossom drop, high temperatures? I've never had blossom drop, when it gets hot here (not that often) the flowers stop producing beans but start up again when it cools down.

Yes, high temps. I only trial runners about every 3 or 4 years. And when the flowers show up, the 90-100 degree days show up at the same time.. This year I will be starting some plants very early and some very late (hoping the whole summer will not be 90-100).

Not sure if this would be feasible for your garden, Tormato... but if are able to rig a sprinkler to a timer, you might be able to get some blossoms to set. A brief spray several times a day, beginning when the plants are in heavy bloom, and continuing for several days. While my summers are certainly not as hot as yours, this technique has allowed me to get at least some pod set in mid-summer.

Successful germination but no cigar :(. Looks like what I have right now are Limas. They sure are skookum seedlings tho...

This is what's so confusing with two different types with the same name, happens a lot with Limas/Runners, like runners that have Lima in their name and are actually runners. Hopefully I'll get lucky with the next ones when they get here.

Annette

A beautiful, healthy seedling regardless. Limas are some of my favorite beans... that photo makes me long for summer. :-(

Received what I believe to be the right Piekny Jas runner in the mail this afternoon so we will soon see. The beans look to be comparable in size to the Gigandes I have.

I'll post a pic after germination, these are much plumper then the first ones, they turned out to be limas.

Annette

Those look like runner beans - and pretty healthy ones at that. If they germinate (and prove to be the bean you were searching for), plant both the runner beans, and the limas... regardless of the weather, at least one will succeed. :-)

I have germination :). One was a little slower swelling so nicked the skin.

Now planted in pots on a heat mat, fingers crossed I don't see any cotyledons. Amazing how fast things transpire when working with fresh viable seed. I'll post another picture when they pop through.

I put both of my PJ's in my raised bed. Waiting for them to emerge

Success, the real deal...

Annette

My three are doing well and starting to flower, if the flowers don't drop I should have pods soon.

Annette

Good to see! Three plants should provide a lot of seeds, provided your weather cooperates.

Newly shelled handful of PJ pods hubby just brought in, lots more to come. My three plants have really produced.

Some of the seed is smooth and shiny, some feels a little pebbly,maybe due to the really hot weather we've had. Will be letting them air dry for awhile before packaging up.

Annette

Mine are finished, seed collected, my three plants did good :). BEWARE of Piekny Jas bought at a Polish deli they may not be the real deal. The one's we bought here turned out to be a Lima. The gal I sent the real deal to in the UK also found beans labeled Piekny Jas at a Polish Deli, she did a comparison grow out and found the ones bought at the deli turned out to be a half runner and the beans produced were much smaller. Her comparison picture Deli PJ'S on the left, the real deal on the right.

I've sent out quite a few and have these left , they're heading to a seed bank.

Annette

Some interesting posts... it seems there are a lot of Piekny Jas imposters out there. It reminds me of my search for Gigandes, which had similar false results before Fusion came up with the real thing.

Annette, those are fine looking beans! I know your focus has been primarily on saving seed, but have you had a chance yet to cook a few?

Zeedman haven't tried cooking any as I'm still trying to spread this seed around, all I've sent out have made it to there destinations safely so maybe I'll steam a sample that is if I can find a few more pods at the shelly stage. If I do I'll come back and report :).

Went out and found the pods hubby missed, when shelled over 100 more beans. The closest total I can come down to is my 3 plants produced 316 beans. I found a few more green pods when shelled produce some big shellies but I have to say they were hard to shell, dry it's a breeze, I took a handful and as some of them are from dry pods I'll put them to soak overnight and try steaming them tomorrow, toss them in some garlic butter, do a taste test. When I did this with Gigandes hubby and I polished them off standing over the kitchen sink, they were so good LOL. I sent more to the gal in the UK so she can do a decent grow out next year.

Annette

Cooked up a sample yesterday sorta following this recipe,
vegankittypatrol.blogspot.com/2014/06/polish-stewed-beans-and-story-of.html

I don't measure, added a bit of diced fried bacon. I halved and garlic
buttered two hoagie buns, put under the broiler until they started to
brown, took them out and spooned on the bean mixture, topped with grated
cheddar and popped them under the broiler again until the cheese
melted. Sprinkled with a little garlic salt and freshly ground black
pepper, what can I say delicious.

These beans cook up tender and have a potato like consistency, they take up flavors very well, it's a keeper. I was going to put a little raw diced red onion in
the mix but I forgot.

Annette

Where did that photo thingy come from UURRGGGHHH!!! Was it because I did a little bit of copy and paste, or did my finger just slip, things on this forum, if you try scrolling down and your finger is in the the wrong place, what can I say other than it's really annoying , I wish you had to click on things to have them appear. Maybe I'm just old and cranky :(.