Have you grown Royal Corona before? I'm trying them for the first time this year.

Are all of those shell beans?

HU

Drloyd, an impressive list as always. It seems you have really gravitated toward the Appalachian beans... do they mature reliably in your climate?

I finally got fed up with the constantly wet sections of my rural garden, and abandoned the lower 1/3. As a result, my list is smaller than in years past:

Common beans:

• Berta Talaska (from Aftermidnight)
• Canon City
• Champagne
• Czechoslovakian
• Emerite
• Garafal Oro
• Giant Red Tarka
• Madeira
• Mr. Claude Parker
• Schwarze Witwe

Limas:

• Cave Dweller (red seed coats)
• German Butterbean

Runner beans:

• Gigandes
• Insuk's Wang Kong

Cowpeas & Yardlongs:

• Bush Sitao BS-3 (yardlong-like pods)
• CES-18-6
• Green Dixie
• MN 150 (to compare against MN 157, which may be misnamed)
• Sierra Madre yardlong
• Taiwan Black yardlong

Pea "Shiraz" (also from Aftermidnight)

Soybeans:

• Besarabka 724
• Crest
• DV-2371
• Fledderjohn (edamame)
• Gardensoy 12 (edamame)
• Jewel
• Kosodiguri Extra Early (edamame)
• Ohozyu
• Pando
• PI 603698 E
• Rouest 117
• Ta Li Tsao Shen Wi Tou

The home plots are fully planted, we hope to plant everything in the rural plot next week. With record rainfall the last two years, this will be the first time in 3 years it has been dry enough there to allow planting.

With the garden downsizing, I am re-evaluating how much of the collection DW & I will be able to maintain. This year we are bringing in topsoil to raise up the remaining portion of the rural garden (for better drainage), and will be removing a stump to extend one of the home plots.

Beesneeds this is my first year to grow Royal Corona. They are very aggressive climbers and there are full snaps. Some should turn yellow this month. They have tolerated 90 F days fine.

Zeedman I have also added 125 yards of top soil. I really like the grow lights that you designed. Some plants have been planted out with no hardening off.

125 yards??? :-0 Wow, that's a lot of soil... you're talking truck loads. I would estimate that I need another 10 yards to raise up the low end of my rural garden, and at least another 2 yards to extend one of my home plots into a poorly drained area. It could turn out to be more, time will tell.

Glad to hear that those lights work well for you. I have had the same experience, stout plants that require very little hardening off. Next year, I might be changing half of the bulbs in one fixture, as an experiment. The intent is to shift the light spectrum a little further to the red and compare the results... provided I can find bulbs with a comparable output in that spectrum.

Drloyd, I will be very interested to hear how Royal Corona compares to other runner beans you have grown, since you have tried so many white-seeded varieties.

My runner beans this year (Gigandes and Insuk's Wang Kong) both look like failures. Gigandes was started as transplants & planted at home, Insuk's was direct seeded in the rural garden, where it came under heavy weed pressure. Both started strong, then quickly became stunted, and basically stopped growing. I tried using fish emulsion on Gigandes, to no effect. All other beans, limas, and cowpeas in both locations are growing normally. I'm thinking that the runner beans were stunted by our extended hot spell... the weather is cooling this week, so I'll be watching for signs of recovery. Too late now for dry seed regardless.

2020 Bean report. Summer was mostly cool until 7/14 and then cool again starting 9/15. All are pole beans and all were started in peat pots starting May 1 when the soil was still too cool to start beans outdoors. Summer days average 75F nights are commonly 50 F or even below.

Alice Whitis. 8/22 large snaps. 9/8 some rubbery. 9/12 some are drying.

Aunt Jean’s. 7/20 snaps. 8/12 some turning a bit yellow. 8/28 some are dry.

Aunt Kate’s. They were planted late on 5/21. 7/19 they branch heavily with several vines going up from the bases. 9/8 immature full size 4 inch snaps. 9/12 large number of medium size ¼ inch diameter snaps good for green beans. 9/19 Many are full and some are rubbery and mature.

Barnes Mountain. 8-8 first blossoms. 9/12 some small and ideal for green beans. Some large. Small crop but good for late September use.

Black Greasy. One early trellis. 8/25 lots of greasy snaps. Perfect for green late beans. 9/15 still fine full snaps. 9/19 some are dry.

Clay Bank Fall, two early trellises, two late. 7/26 snaps. 8/22 loads of pods with red streaks. 9/8 many are dry even on the late trellises. 9/19 most are dry but there are still many usable full snaps. This is my favorite so far. Frank Barnett discovered these.

Frank Barnett Cutshort. 8/8 first snaps. 8/25 very tasty full snaps. Small crop this year.

John Morgan Stumbo Greasy Cutshort. 8/2 heavily branched vines are still fairly short. 8-8 climbing well now. 9/12 there are 2 inch snaps. 9/19 I do not expect to be able to enjoy full size snaps or save seeds.

Monachine/Pellegrini. 8/30 full and changing color. 9/12 some are rubbery. 9/15 many are dry. These are fine full beans.

Monte Cristo is grown for family members who think Blue Lake is the ideal bean! Two early trellises started 5/1, one 5/15, one 6/1, one 6/10. 7/26 snaps. 8/2 loads of full size snaps. 8/30 mostly over large and tough. 9/5 they are finished.

Robe Mountain. These are also grown for Blue Lake fans. 7/30 there are snaps. 8/2 loads of full size snaps. Better than Monte Cristo when big.

Royal Corona. White runner 6/27 the tall vigorous vines have blossoms! 7/13 there are 3 inch snaps. 8-8 fat maturing pods. 8/21 some pods at yellow shelly stage. 8/30 mostly dry. 9/18 picked the rest of the dry pods. (Zeedman they tolerated hot late July and August days, many above 90F. The shellies were fine and even DW liked them.)

Ruth Bible. 7/30 there are snaps. They are similar to Tennessee cutshort but vines branch more and have heavier foliage. 8/22 foliage is still much heavier than Tennessee Cutshort and full snaps are good.

Tennessee Cutshort. 7/30 there are snaps. 8/22 snaps maturing on almost bare vines. The full beans are very good.

Nice report, Drloyd. Was there anything distinguishing about Royal Corona, compared to other white runner beans you've grown?

Curiously, both Insuk's Wang Kong & Gigandes have been heat tolerant in the past for me... Insuk's very much so. This year, apparently not. It may have had more to do with sunlight than temperature, we had A LOT more sunny days this summer. Both finally began climbing & blooming in late August, and have now reached the top of their trellises. I should get a late crop of snaps from them, but barring a miracle, no dry seed.

Dry seed harvest for Czechoslovakian, Giant Red Tarka and Mr. Claude
Parker is nearly complete. Shiraz pea, German Butterbean lima, MN 150
cowpea, and Sierra Madre yardlong bean are done too, and about 1/2 of the soybeans.

We just dodged the first frost advisory last night, so all of the beans are still healthy. With the exception of Madeira (which was stunted by early weed pressure) the remaining beans have begun ripening. Warm dry weather forecast until Thursday, should get a lot of dry seed in the next week.

I love beans. This year's crop is doing well . Italian bush called Cocco Bianco. I am assuming it is a Shelly

But when do I harvest and if they are not fully dried can I use dehydrator to finish drying? Or will that spoil them for next year's seed,

According to the companies which sell it, Cocco Bianco is intended for dry use... and most dry beans are good as shellies if harvested before the seeds dry. Feel the end of the pod where it connects to the stem; if it feels limp, soft, or leathery, the beans are at shelly stage. For many beans, the pods may change color too (such as red to purple) but I'm not familiar with Cocco Bianco, so don't know if that applies.

If you intend to save dry seed, the pods should be allowed to dry on the plant unless weather or rodents threaten. If the pod is at shelly stage, the beans within are mature & can be dried. The best way is with a fan, which will usually be enough to dry the pods. Drying under heat is not recommended; even the lowest setting on a dehydrator can destroy the seed. Such seed is OK for food use, but should be germination tested before being used as planting seed.

Very helpful. Thank yu.