Galina's beans

[Galina]

I am a big fan of beans. Such wondrous diversity. Here are a few grown this year.

Wilma Horseman, a white seeded Appalachian cutshort bean (the beans inside the pod are crammed, so they are squared off - they appear 'cut short'). Still needs to adapt to our climate, struggling a bit to ripen, but the plants topped 8ft canes and then grew into the apple tree above! Strangely the pods in the apple tree (which only became visible when the leaves came down) were all mature pods, whereas the beans lower down are still green. Appalachian beans tend to be small seeded and have smaller pods than many European beans. Often they are shiny on the outside, then they are called 'greasy beans'. Very different from the beans we are used to.

[Galina]

Cara La Virgen De La Bañera Leon (Face of the virgin of Lion's bath)

Bean from Majorca originally, given to me by Prof Klapprott. Very high bearing dual purpose bean, stringless and very pretty pattern. The seed picture shows freshly shelled and older seed. The brown hilum spot develops during storage, almost not visible on freshly shelled seeds, but the pretty pink pattern fades on older beans.

[Silverleaf]

I love beans too! Love seeing all the different shapes and sizes and colours and patterns.

[Galina]

Glad to hear it - it is nice NOT to have to explain why they are so enticing to take out of the packets mid-winter and look at them and dream of summer.

[Silverleaf]

Wow, yes! I just like admiring them and running them through my fingers and admiring them.

[jayb]

I like the look of Wilma Horseman, pretty shape to the seeds. Sounds like the vines are rampant growers. Are they for dried beans or can they be eaten green too?

[Galina]

This is the principal way of eating them. Green pods with developing seeds inside. As they are smallish beans, they can be left whole. However I have not (yet) eaten these particular ones, still adjusting to our climate.

[jayb]

Aren't Cara La Virgen De La Bañera Leon beautiful, love the pods and beautiful dried seeds. Have you had a chance to try these?
The seed shape, colour and seed pattern looks similar to Papa de Rola and Hewitt.

[Galina]

Yes we are eating plenty - it is a variety I have had for many years. And there are enough for the seed circle too, just drying on the window sill. They yielded well, I hoped I would have enough for the circle, but I got far more than expected due to long autumn weather conditions.

[Galina]

Crochu de Montmagny

A heirloom bean from France with little pods and beautiful, small red seeds inside. Swapped from the owner of 'Beans and Herbs' but long before she had the seed shop. One of my first swaps ever and one of those beans that really got me 'hooked' on beans. Interestingly, I have always shelled Crochu, but after discussion about Fallbeans from the USA, which are eaten pods and all, when the seeds have swelled inside, I tried them like this too and that is probably a better way, certainly you get far more food from them, eating the pods and the beanies inside at full maturity, but before the pods deteriorate. Unfortunately I know nothing about its origin.

[jayb]

These look yum yum good!

[Galina]

Slovenian Yellow

Original seed from Jaap Vlaming, brought back from Slovenia. Bright yellow pods, that get a pink hue as they mature. They look stunning on the plants with this apricot colouring. Delicious for eating fresh pods, but definitely one for after the summer break, as they mature fairly late. The seeds are a very unusual olive green. .

[Galina]

Yes, but Siva's seeds (same colour) are a bit larger

[jayb]

Also from the picture they look greener than Siva, which seem more grey in colour? The green is striking, I think we have had a similar chat before, have you grown them together in the same year to compare?

[Galina]

I keep forgetting. Thank you for mentioning. I'll look up when Siva is due for seed renewal and put Slovenian Yellow in the same year on my database. There are so many little projects like this, I just forget to do. Glad about the reminder, Jayb.

[Galina]

Rose Family Bean

This is an Eastern Kentucky heirloom bean from the Rose family. Another of the autumn beans, very nice to eat as green beans. The beans inside the pods have a lovely purple/blueish hue. My donor was John Yeoman who had this bean in the Village Guild collection. He received it directly from Kentucky. These are now finally years later commercially available from the SMAC centre: http://www.heirlooms.org/cornfield-beans.html
Jayb grew them and got some lovely F2 outcrosses with really exciting colours. I am looking forward to growing these out next year..

[Galina]

Monstrance Climbing French Bean

a really lovely dual purpose bean (thank you Jayb for seeds) - an allround good performer. Relatively early, sort of second early (if I may borrow potato speak). Very pretty picture of a monstrance around the hilum.

[jayb]

Glad you liked them, I think they are lovely too. Really happy I preserved and found seed for them, a keeper for sure for me.

[jayb]

Rose Family are a lovely bean, gorgeous picture.
I haven't picked any of my Rose Family mix yet, they've had a bit of a hard time between the mole and the dog! I should have some to harvest and can't wait to see what's inside the shells. Funny you should post pictures today, I've been sorting through my beans today and admiring Rose Family!

[Galina]

Just shelled some of the Rose mixes here, haven't grown all of the seeds just a few. I'm afraid they were stuffed in a fairly shady spot. But they have done well. Some green pods and - very surprised at that - also some purple pods. Must take a photo of the seeds, but not all have been shelled yet. Interesting seed colours.

[jayb]

Excellent, can't wait to see the pictures, I'm afraid I didn't get any sown this year (in fact no climbing frenchies, boo hoo!) But they are on my list for next year.

[Galina]

Hope you can still harvest some of them before it is too frosty. Here we are now finished with beans and just about everything else too outside the greenhouse. Sad, but we did have a month longer for beans than most years.

[jayb]

Hope so to, body and mind are on a bit of a go slow! Luckily they are in the polytunnel so should be ok for a little bit yet.

[Silverleaf]

I usually hate the clocks going back too, but my sleep cycle's already so messed up that I hardly even noticed it this year!

[jayb]

Yes hibernate mode has struck here too, not good. Roll on spring! " hope you stay fit and strong this winter" I'm hoping so, lots to adjust to like me using extra energy for keeping warm and walking the dog (summertime she is out and about with one of us most of the day and doesn't need so much) all takes it's toll and I'm struggling.
Sorry to hear your sleep cycle is messed SL, horrid.

[Galina]

And you too Silverleaf! It is difficult to function well and stay strong and determined without proper sleep. Take care both xx

[Galina]

Bob and Mary

What a pretty bean, curved and the pods are quite fat and curved like a shrimp. Swapped at potato day, but originally from HSL, as the packet said. Should have sown more, but just wanted to try a few this year. A good one.

[Silverleaf]

Love it! That curve is really fun and I like that bright sunshiny yellow.

[jayb]

Lovely, are they a shelling bean?

[Galina]

Better as 'green bean'. Which of course does not mean that the seeds can't be used. Let me know if you'd like seeds, Silverleaf and Jayb.

[Galina]

Cousin Oliver's

This is a family bean from Purvis Mississippi in the USA. A friend of my donor named this bean after her Cousin, Oliver Cameron. Although this bean hails from the South of the USA, it is growing very well in Britain.

There are purple flowers followed by lots of beans in bunches of 7 or 8 medium length slender pods. Green with purple striping. Very nice as green beans. With string. Prolific. Also good for dry seed. Enough seeds for the seed circle


Tried to upload a picture of the pods and it tells me that the file is corrupted - It isn't! This does happen quite a lot. I will fetch another photo and try again.

[Galina]

Just as well I have taken several pictures of Cousin Oliver's. This photo shows the beans growing in bunches of 7 or 8 - a bit like Mechelse Tros.

[jayb]

I grew Cousin Oliver's a couple of years ago, lovely bean and cropped well here too. They came from a swap, I'm guessing now from you! Quite fun to go full circle as I've added some to a4a swap parcel. Good to have a history for them too.

[Galina]

That would have been from my 2009 grow-out of this bean. Yes it is most likely that you had them from me, because this is a family bean and has never been commercially available anywhere. Or from me via somebody else

I got seeds for this variety from Sharon Vadas in Colorado, who got it from a friend from her church Barbara Parker, whose cousin is Oliver Cameron. Barbara named the bean when she gave them to Sharon - they were previously just known as 'beans' in the Cameron household although, who knows, it could be a recognised variety. Does well in the Deep South of the USA, does well in the high altitude drylands of Colorado, does well here and also in Wales. There are some beans that are brilliant wherever they are grown. This is one of them it seems.

What makes this bean quite fascinating (apart from doing well) is that there are long trusses with lots of beans of each truss. Only Mechelse Tros has similar trusses (from the beans I know). The bean equivalent of centiflor tomatoes.

[jayb]

I'm afraid I didn't register the long trusses, but will be sure and take more notice next time around. I'll be growing this one again!