I have been growing some unknown variety of italian flat beans (pole bean). Got the seed from a friend who grows them every year. The seed was originally obtained from some italian immigrants many years ago. Great flavor and yield. I save my own seed every year.
Surprised to see what looks like jap beetle damage on some of the photos posted. I have only seen 1 jap beetle this summer. I know I am lucky as I have roses and they love roses. Every year they seem to go around my area for some reason. This year the population is the lowest ever. 15o miles from me they are super abundant. Not sure why so few where I am but I am happy about it!
Japanese beetles are picky about which pole beans they consume. Fortex is a favorite variety. I have a breeding line from a cross involving Fortex and the beetles will hit about every 3rd or 4th plant. This suggests they don’t like something about the smell of some plants. I’ve been selecting from the plants they avoid.
I have seen some Japanese beetles feeding on my plants but not in any great number and not enough for me to do anything about. Thankfully they have no interest in the beans, just the leaves.
You made me think about my grandma, thanks!
We would sit in her old metal chairs (the ones that could burn the skin off the back of your legs if not careful) in the yard to snap beans and other gardening “chores”.
Pole bean seeds for next year. The variety is called Dasinger Blaue, this is the second year I grew them from my own seed. I got about 8 seeds of them in 2020, which were completely uniform. As you can see, this is no longer the case. There is definitely more variation in the beans themselves but also in the seeds than last year, which I don’t mind as long as the resulting offspring is as vigorous and healthy as the parent plants. Some of these are propably crosses with the bush beans, but I guess that the seeds I sowed in 2020 weren’t 100 % pure either and now it is more a population than a variety
Nice haul! Will be interesting to see what you get next year. I spent several hours yesterday shelling beans while watching TV. I’ll grow next year from this batch so I am curious what I will get since I had two varieties this year.
