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Post by chrysanthemum on Sept 25, 2023 19:10:09 GMT -6
I didn’t get a picture of the harvest I got off of “Una” today, but it was more than I could hold in one hand off just that one plant. The rain from the tropical storm this weekend seems to have really caused all the beans to grow fast. I got over three pounds of Woods Mountain Crazy Beans today and a whole bunch of Rattlesnakes.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 27, 2023 16:13:36 GMT -6
Cool beans, Chrysanthemum! I'm so happy for you guys, moving back to where it rains regularly. Southern Texas would get tough on a gardener's resolve pretty fast.
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MRH
New Member
Posts: 21
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Post by MRH on Oct 15, 2023 19:38:57 GMT -6
Hi, this is my first post.. I'd love to get some seed from someone if possible.... Thanx...... I'm heading to the seed swap in Berea, Ky,,, I hope... I'm in Kansas....
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Post by macmex on Oct 16, 2023 5:52:07 GMT -6
Oh my! That's going to be fun! I'm pretty sure I sent some seed to Bill Best but don't know if they've had time to grow it out.
I answered your private message. We'll get you fixed up
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Post by chrysanthemum on Nov 2, 2023 18:31:50 GMT -6
I’ve been down sick this week, so my amazing mother kindly did the final bean harvest for me a couple of days ago. She shelled out most of the Woods Mountain Crazy Beans, and so we ate those over bread for lunch today. They were a tasty shell bean. I can’t remember quite when, but I had harvested a few pods for seed some time ago before rain was predicted. They’re drying down, so I think I’ll have a few seeds this year. I haven’t actually been out to the garden since the freeze last night, but I’ll probably head out this weekend to see what may be hanging out under dead vines.
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Post by chrysanthemum on Nov 3, 2023 14:18:06 GMT -6
We had another twenty-six degree night last night, which, I admit, caught me by surprise as the forecast called for only just a drop to freezing. This afternoon is bright and sunny, though, with a temperature of sixty-six. My youngest and I ventured outside. He rode around the garden on his bike while I inspected the bean plants. All the foliage and pods had frozen and thawed, of course, but I found a few full pods on the Woods Mountain Crazy Beans. I don’t know if the beans inside the pods froze through or not, so I thought I’d bring them inside and keep and an eye on them for a few days to see what happens. There may be no hope, but it will be a little experiment. I still have saved seed from earlier this summer, so I’m not desperate to save this batch.
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MRH
New Member
Posts: 21
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Post by MRH on Nov 9, 2023 16:58:07 GMT -6
Fingers crossed....
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jan 26, 2024 10:00:41 GMT -6
I actually did get a mini harvest of Woods Mountain Crazy Beans out of those few pods I collected after a freeze this fall. I was surprised how many seeds appeared good. It’s still a small number, but I was pleased.
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Post by macmex on Jan 27, 2024 6:43:40 GMT -6
It's surprising how many beans (pods for eating) one could get out of a planting of that many seeds.
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Post by galina on May 12, 2024 10:39:55 GMT -6
Woods Mountain crazy beans and all the other specials from you, MacMex, have been pre-sown into little pots and WM is showing first signs of sprouting! Safer to pre-grow rare seeds rather than direct sowing outdoors where all too many things can go wrong for them. Second rule of safety, I only sowed some of them, just in case. Despite all care sometimes things still can go wrong. As invariably happens with the rarest seed. Then it is good to have a second chance at them. Clearly, these seeds have not been damaged by any postal x-rays. Hope to do justice by your generous gift of seeds, grow and propagate, then share seeds widely.
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Post by macmex on May 13, 2024 5:44:17 GMT -6
That's great to hear! My wife and I haven't canned many beans for some years now so this year we're hoping to can a good many. Went for the large crop, and am planting about 80' of Woods Mountain Crazy Bean this year. It's probably the heaviest producing bean we have, and though I like some others a bit better for flavor, I'm happy to have them in the larder, come winter. It will be most interesting to hear how this one does in such a different climate. Even people from the upper Midwest and Northeastern parts of the USA often fail to comprehend what a drastically different climate we have here, and "here" is where Woods Mountain Crazy Bean appears to have originated. So it will be interesting. It may behave in unexpected ways in Germany.
Yes, I try to follow the same protocols as you, when starting out with a new (rare) variety. I remember, when I first received this bean Sherry Wood sent me something like 14 seeds. I planted 10 and very quickly lost most to grasshoppers and rabbits. I'd have to look it up, but if I recall I managed to get five plants to make seed. The next year I grew out my remaining original seed and have never let my supply get low since then.
It's simply wonderful to know that this bean has "jumped the pond," so to speak and is now going to be grown in Europe!
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Post by macmex on May 14, 2024 6:00:00 GMT -6
When I'm done we should have 80' of Woods Mountain Crazy Beans. I recall Sherry Hill mentioning, somewhere, that they used to grow a similar length of row to can for three families. Maybe we'll have too many beans this summer? We'll see. We need to can a lot. Our reserves are getting low. The latest beans we've been eating were canned in 2009 and got lost in the pantry. They're good, but we're running out.
I couldn't get a good photo of what's up without taking two photos. Wish I could capture the effect of looking down the whole row and seeing all those cotyledon leaves reflecting the setting sun but that didn't work with my phone camera.
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Post by galina on May 14, 2024 15:01:31 GMT -6
They look so nice and healthy. Thank you for those photos. Canning, oh yes, I have dill growing and we love dilly beans for salads in mid winter. Most of our beans for cooking just go in the freezer and get steamed for dinner. Yes direct sowing is easier by far, but I do prefer to pre-grow most, as we can get still very cool days after planting out and they can 'sulk' rather than grow away sowing direct and if it is very wet light coloured seeds are usually rotting rather than germinating. No such issues with pre-growing. 80 foot, 27 metres is a lot of bean plants. You grow them quite closely spaced I notice. Will slugs etc do some extra thinning or can they grow at such spacings? Are the red lines a watering system or crop markers? My plants will be about 15-20cm spaced, ie 6 to 8 inches, especially as you said they grow on the tall side for bush beans. But my gaps to the next row of plants is far less wide than yours. I garden in strips, so the walking paths between the strips act as spacing and the beans go across the 4 ft widths with only about a foot to the next crop. With beans I often interspace with a row of lettuce or carrots, sometimes with wider spacing for 3 or 4 potato plants going across the strip. To allow for digging out potatoes and not affecting the next crop, but for a row of carrots or a few turnips, that foot spacing is perfect. If only the Old Timey Pumpkin would show any signs of life. I planted two more seeds indoors today, getting impatient that the first haven't showed up yet. Still got some more seeds left for a third try. X-ray damage from posted seeds unfortunately is a real thing. They will probably all of a sudden appear and I am just being too impatient. The Wood's Mountain Crazy beans however were really quick off the mark, and fast growing now 2 inches tall already. Right in full sunshine at the window door, so not stretched. I can see them being planted in the garden within days. I have collected plastic bottles which I cut off at the bottom, so can use as individual cloche protection over single plants if nights turn cold. But these look so strong. Will keep you informed how they do here. And we do need good harvests for those winter bean salads and for seeds. So they can't crop too crazy for our liking. All the other beans have also at least one seedling showing, obviously more to come over the next few days. Happy days
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Post by macmex on May 15, 2024 5:27:39 GMT -6
When have only a few seeds of a variety I often start mine in trays first, to avoid early loses. I have enough WMCB seed to be less careful. I did, however, plant too close. I'm pretty much counting on rabbit and cutworm damage, early on. We'll see. There is less weed cover for rabbits than usual, this year.
My rows don't have to be so far apart, for sure. In fact, I have always grown this one in blocks (wide rows) until this year. However the last two years were so terrible with crop failures that my wife and I decided that wasted space was worth it if we could swap for security. The red you see in the photos is plastic mulch. It's to help keep down weeds and conserve moisture.
A full grown Woods Mountain Crazy Bean Plant is pretty broad, often spreading out nearly a foot (30 cm). This is the first time I've tried growing them in a row.
I sure hope the Old Timey Cornfield Pumpkin germinates for you!
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