Grandma Gina and uncle Steve may have crossed.

[rxkeith]

A surprise in the bean dept.

I have about two dozen uncle Steve seeds that are mostly black with white speckles instead of their normal cream and purple speckled. Grandma Gina was growing next to uncle Steve this year, and last year. This could be a really interesting cross if that's what happened.
Grandma Gina is a huge Romano bean I got from someone back in the garden web days. One bean can feed two people. I'm exaggerating, but only a little.
After having crossing issues years ago with my uncle Steve beans I always put a bean with a much different seed next to mine so if crossing occurs it is readily noticeable.
Grandma Gina is the only black seeded pole bean the last two years in the garden.

Now a question. Is the seed coat different as a result of cross pollination this year, or
Did the cross happen last year? Uncle Steve seeds planted this year were from last years seeds which all looked normal.



Keith

[Zeedman]

The crossed seed would appear normal. Only when that seed was planted would the cross manifest itself, in the next generation.

[Nematode]

Bean incest. Oh no.

[Nan_PA_6b]

Agree with Zeedman. You don't know it's crossed until the crossed beans produce seeds.



And it would only be Beancest if Grandma Gina and Uncle Steve are on the same side of the family?

[Zeedman]

Originally Posted by Nematode

Bean incest. Oh no.

Beans normally self-fertilize... I don't think we have an equivalent term. Sometimes it doesn't pay to over-think something.

[rxkeith]

rest easy now there.

uncle steve was my great uncle.
grandma gina was someone elses grandma.
both were italian, different families.
not even cousins.



keith

[Nan_PA_6b]

Whew!

[Tormato]

Uncle Steve (the bean) is a player! It may be in the same league as Jeminez.


I'm wondering if Grandma Gina is the same as Aunt Mary's Meat (and both of those the same as a bean known only by its PI number).


All seem to have huge, wide green pods, and black seed that very frequently split their seed coat.

[rxkeith]

i posed the same question to remy remarking on similarities between aunt marys meat
and grandma gina.

i have a few hundred seeds of grandma gina drying, and over half of them split their seed coat in the pod. the bean pods when picked were at the yellow leathery stage. grandma gina is such a big bean that i have never been able to get it to dry down completely. our fall weather is often wet, and rainy. what i need to find out is an optimal time to harvest seeds of grandma gina to minimize splitting. maybe i'm waiting too long. i plan on contacting
my original source of grandma gina to find out.

i have a flat sheet pan of uncle steve seeds drying in the living room. sandhill didn't have them listed last year. i will have plenty to share if the interest is there.



keith

[Tormato]

Aunt Mary's Meat likely averages about 50% splitting, for me. But, one year it will be almost 0%, another year about 50%, and another year near 100%.


It's probably due to the amount of rain at the time seeds are growing and maturing in the pods, later in the year. The early pods are eaten.

[rxkeith]

my gina/steve beans now have beans on the vines.

i had planted about a dozen seeds plus a few with cracked seed coats the first week
of june. about 7 or 8 came up despite a cool wet spell shortly after planting. my
uncle steve bean seems to have passed on its ability to tolerate cooler weather.
the offspring looks like both parents. the pods are flat, and mostly straight like gina,
and have the purple mottling from steve only not as dark. i am curious what the size
of the bean will be.

i haven't eaten one yet. i don't dare. the early beans are needed for seed. frost comes
early here, and its sometimes a crap shoot getting seeds in time. i have precious few left.

tormato (gary) has my back. i sent him a few seeds to grow out. his season is a lot
longer than mine.
gary, if you are growing the cross this year, feel free to report how its doing.


stay tuned






keith

[PhilaGardener]

Good luck, rxkeith! We've been getting a crazy amount of rain in SE PA (as, I think, MI has on and off this year), so it's a challenge to get beans to dry properly. Bush beans are the biggest problem with the pods under the foliage and often touching the ground. Pole beans are better but I also get seeds sprouting in the pods as they mature. Clearly some varieties perform better than others, so I'm really starting to like the ones that shed water better than others.

In contrast, MA has been dry this year, so hopefully Tormato will have a good yield!

I need a barn so I can pull plants and let the pods dry on the vines under cover!

[rxkeith]

a killer frost came through last week and wiped out most things tender.
i had sheets covering some of the beans, but they didn't do much. a heavy
moving pad over some beans gave the best protection. it looks like i will get some
seeds from the cross. i have a few pods in the house drying. more pods are still on the vine. i was hoping to get at least replacement seeds for what i planted, and i will. could be worse. a few dozen seeds is better than six.

most beans had the purple mottling from uncle steve, but i also had a plant or two
that was producing green pods without the purple. those beans were not mature
enough to save seed from. i'll have another look before the weather heads south.
only taste i had was a few in the garden, none made it into the pot. productivity was
modest compared to uncle steve, but hard to tell. not picking them slows down
production.






keith

[imp]

If it gets to the point where you have enough seed to share, I'd be interested in growing some out. I have a longer and drier season here in north Texas. Hotter, too, LOL.

[rxkeith]

yup,


once i get enough seed saved up, and am able to cook a pot of beans to judge

taste, and all, i plan on dispersing them. i just need one good year to load up.




keith