I didn't know beans could get this big! Chance crosses in my pole dry bean landrace...

I have honestly been finding more crosses in my bean patch than I expected given their relatively low chance to cross. Most amazing are these ginormous beans that weight 3-4 grams each. I presume those have crossed in order to put on that kind of size, but they do look similar to the mother beans, so they could simply be reaching the genetic potential for that variety. But I suspect they're a cross given that they're about 4 times the size. They're literally bigger than the smallest potatoes I harvested this year. 😂

The second photo is this gorgeous mottled salt & pepper bean. It's the only one I've seen, and it looks nothing like anything I planted. It's literally the only seed I got, but there are more bean pods on that plant, so I've got my fingers crossed that I'm not limited to this one seed.

Finally are these bright yellow beans. At first I thought it was a fluke because the pod wasn't fully dry when I picked it, so I figured they'd darken up after they dried. But nope. They stayed a bright mustardy yellow. And I found another pod like it today. I have some teparies that are closer to this color, but I didn't have a chance to plant them this year. And this is isn't anything like I have in my common beans. Just a simple, gorgeous looking bean.

I honestly expected to be a little bored working on a bean landrace, since I didn't expect much exciting to happen with crosses. Expected to get things that were pretty similar to what I already had. This was way more crossing than I expected and the results have been phenomenal. I'm excited to see  how these plants fare next year. The plants with the giant beans were already far more massive than any of the other varieties I grew, covering maybe 14 feet of trellis, up and across. I can only imagine how big the plants will get next year when they're starting with around 4 times as much energy as the typical bean. Just a shame I don't have enough to taste them and see how the taste and texture hold up at that size. But with any luck, I'll have more than enough next year. And for those keeping track at home, that's about 10 calories a bean... so if you're counting calories, it sure makes it easy. 😅 Though, I'm uncertain what the size will do for the cooking time. But a pressure cooker will no doubt make quick work of them. Or a wood stove will get there in time.

Runners and things like Limas can have a chance of crossing over with common beans.

Pretty neat having larger beans either way.


Could be a form of a mutation too.

Garrett Schantz wrote:Runners and things like Limas can have a chance of crossing over with common beans.

Pretty neat having larger beans either way.


Could be a form of a mutation too.

Yeah, the large ones are a mystery. The others are very likely crosses, but the big ones could be a number of things.

And have never had luck with runner beans here. Didn't even bother trying this year. They've literally never produced anything. They're so slow growing in our cool wet springs that they never produce anything, and once they start flowering, it's just too hot for them to drop pollen. They flower a lot and look gorgeous, but they've never produced a single bean here. Maybe once I have a shady spot for them I'll give them another chance. But until then...

Have you tried cooking the different constituents of your landrace in the same pot? Considering the pretty big differences in size (and density too, I imagine), I'm wondering how that would work.

Andy Ross wrote:Have you tried cooking the different constituents of your landrace in the same pot? Considering the pretty big differences in size (and density too, I imagine), I'm wondering how that would work.

To quote Joseph: "So what?" 😂

But since I don't have enough of the large beans to cook, I'll be replanting all of them. Next year I should have enough to cook, and I'll cook them by themselves to get an idea of how they cook up and taste. I would probably maintain the large beans separately, at least for cooking. And if the eating quality is good, then I'd try to push my whole population in this direction over time, since it's more food for the same amount of space and effort. But all just theoretical. Until I see what next year brings, I can't really say anything with certainty.

what in the world are those super cool half-and-half beans?? half tan+brown speckled, half white?

Yeah, I've had issues with runner beans since moving to Mississippi.

It rains a lot, it's swampy and gets hot and dry towards summer.

I'm trying again next year.



It could be worth planting out the larger beans if one plant gave those out. Plant them in a group and see if they're just larger than others.

Almond Thompson wrote:what in the world are those super cool half-and-half beans?? half tan+brown speckled, half white?

I genuinely couldn't tell you at this point. If Mark or Jan wander into this post, they might be able to say. Or anyone else that recognizes it. They're the two that provided the bulk of the variety for my mix. And it's literally a mix. Everything was put together in the same bag. I do not know the names of most of the varieties anymore. Is definitely one of my favorites, though!