Frank Barnett's Pole Bean Seed

[macmex]

I planted a short cattle panel and four poles of Frank Barnett on July 11. Haven't grown this bean since 2014 but fortunately I had a good seed crop that year and kept them in frozen storage. Mine should have come up, but I was busy working in another garden this weekend and didn't check.

Here's one of the few pictures I took of this bean back in 2014. It is a superb Appalachian string bean, very similar to Tennessee Cutshort, but with the seed more tightly packed in the pod. At one point I started selecting Tennessee Cutshort for more seed per pod and discovered within a couple years, that it began to look like Frank Barnett. So, I stopped doing that.


 

[macmex]

I planted some 15 days ago, and not a single one came up. It's possible that I used a different batch of seed than what I sent you and that the seed was expired. I'm suspecting it just got too dry during a critical stage. Two days ago I started more seed in a damp paper towel. Hopefully they will germinate.

[heavyhitterokra]

Bon,

Pre-sprouting seeds was George's idea. I just copied his technique. I agree though, that has kept me from planting duds several times over the years and that is a real time saver when you are looking at a short season ahead.

George,

I have plenty of Tennessee cutshort seeds if you need any.

[macmex]

Well, apparently I misplaced one sack of my Frank Barnett seed. Seed from the other sack had a very low germination rate. Still, I have enough up and climbing that we should get a decent seed crop. This is a very very nice variety. I'd say my seed stock had a close brush with extinction this year. This is a good illustration of why it's so good to share seed with others. It spreads it around and is a way to insure against permanent loss.

[heavyhitterokra]

You're right about that seed sharing to prevent extinction thing, George. There has been more than one year out here that I'd have lost a variety if it had not been for sharing seeds with so many others.

[hmoosek]

@bon
How are your beans doing?

[macmex]

I need to take pictures in order to share. My planting of Frank Barnett is looking very good. It's loaded with beans which are filling out very well. I haven't seen any starting to dry down yet, but that doesn't mean they aren't out there. I need to look. At this point, if I had to, I could pull the vines and let the seed dry down. It wouldn't be the very best, but I'm sure it would be viable for next year.

[macmex]

That's great news, Bon! My plants had a couple brushes with light frost and now they have decided to DRY DOWN . This is great! Looks like I'll get a decent seed crop.




This is one of those super good beans that gets little press.

[hmoosek]

Bon & George,
That is great news! I saw Frank Barnet’s name mentioned on one of the seed vendors site talking about another bean. I can’t remember the details at the moment.

[heavyhitterokra]

Bon,

That's so cool! If those vines survived this Summer's drought they ought to be keepers for sure!

[hmoosek]

After looking at sustainable Mountain. I remember where I saw the name Frank Barnet. As they have several beans from his collection.


Psst....George.

I noticed they have several cornfield beans listed this year. I thought about ordering some, but I have enough bean seed now to sink a battle ship.

[heavyhitterokra]

Moose,

Thanks, for sharing that. It's always good to know about suppliers like that.

Here is a very interesting article by Bill Best, about saving seeds for a certain selected trait: www.heirlooms.org/collecting-beans.html

Link to Sutainable Mountain Bean Seed Catalog: www.heirlooms.org/store/c1/Featured_Products.html

[macmex]

That was a very good article by Bill Best. I agree with him very much. Cherokee Trail of Tears is not a tender podded bean like the Appalachian full beans and I got a cross between it and Tennessee Cutshort. Because of those tough genes it's taken some extra years to get back to tender podded in my selection. He also has a great perspective on mixes and new selections. He approaches beans about like Ron approaches okra.

[jr22]

Yes, very good article by Bill, he's a great resource on the seed saving and protecting plants that are far better than what the "Big" seed companies are trying to force on people.

[hmoosek]

Nov 17, 2021 15:57:05 GMT -6 @bon said:

Excellent as is anything with bill best and his beans.

Reminded me to be careful. I have multitudes of pollinators.

So do I! We have tons of those wood bees that look like Bumblebees. They bored holes all in the bottom of my house before I was able to get it underpinned. I had a hole you could stick your finger in! I put up a bunch of those houses that catch them so I could thin the herd. I hated to do it, but they were destroying my home.