Beans again!

If you are a long-standing reader of this blog, with a good memory, you might recall that my batch of 10 Soldier beans from the Heritage Seed Library in 2008 yielded one rogue bean that grew upwards, had red turning to maroon pods and black seeds. I decided to grow some of these on this year and as previous posts have shown, I have had some interesting and colourful shelly beans from them, though sadly the colours fade on cooking. However, I left some of the better ones on to dry for seed and here are some results.

This one has a dark background with a grey speckled pattern on. Assuming I can grow out a row of these next year and save those that grow true, I intend to call it Porphyry (you never lose the inner geologist!) If you click on the photo you will get a close-up (probably - occasionally it doesn't work). It's about the size of Early Warwick (in my last posting) and a bean I'd love to be able to grow regularly. I'm going to sow the most patterned seeds next year.

These a a deep blue bean (you'll have to trust me on that - the camera hasn't done them justice). If I pursue this line it will have to be called Indigo. It might turn out rubbish in cooking though. That's the next test for all of these.

This next one I find very exciting. It's speckled with black. It's smaller than the parent Soldier but as good a size as the bought green flageolet beans and a way bigger than a haricot. Anyone suggest a name? I keep thinking Old Speckled Hen - am I just hoping for brewery sponsorship?

Here is a Soldier and a Speckled for comparison. Good eh? I really hope I can grow out a true line of these in the next couple of years.

Finally a black one. I don't think I'll bother trying to grow this one on. It's just about ok and again, might go yukky in the boiling. As with Indigo I shall decide after I've cooked a few.