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Gold of Bacau

This bean I’m growing this year came from Søren, called Gold of Bacău.  Søren gave me the seeds two years ago, but last year I only grew it in order to save more seeds.  This year I’m growing it to eat, and the glut has begun!  I have 6 poles of this bean, and it’s more than the 2 of us can eat especially considering we’re growing other beans too.  It was pretty much my earliest pole bean, of the roughly 20 varieties I have this year.  Most of the others I’m growing for seeds or as a trial.

It’s a Romanian bean.  It has a very nice taste.  I’m not a big fan of wax beans, and the taste of this is really something different.  The texture is very soft, but still crisp and not mushy.  Mostly the beans are yellow, but as you can see in the picture sometimes they are a little streaked with green, probably because I picked them a little early.  They mature from green to yellow.

This bean will become a regular feature of my garden, at least for now.  I will certainly want to grow it again.  Does anyone know of other similar beans?  It might be nice to compare and contrast them.

Update:  Someone asked me what the seeds look like.  Here’s a picture:

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Late Blight in Amsterdam

After heavy rains, Late Blight appeared in my garden yesterday.  My tomatoes were an immediate and near total loss, but I’m getting used to that and didn’t plant many this year.  My potatoes are still untouched, but I’m sure they too will be infected within a matter of days.

Anyone else have new outbreaks of blight?

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More Info on the Start Garden Party in London

I posted about this before.  While I don’t know yet if I can attend, I think this is an event well suited to the kind of people who read this blog.  The following is from a News Release they emailed me:

For Immediate Release
7 August 2010

‘A Garden Party to Make a Difference’ – the ultimate garden party for the eco-conscious will open at The Prince of Wales private gardens in Clarence House and the gardens of neighbours Lancaster House and Marlborough House on 8 September 2010 and will run until 19 September. This unique garden party is an imaginative part of The Prince of Wales’ ‘Start’ initiative launched in February. The aim of the twelve day event is a fun day out for people of all ages but also to engage them via the exhibits that will illustrate that small steps are being taken by those interested in building a more sustainable future and what a difference they can make.

In addition to the garden focused exhibits in the grounds of these private gardens opened exclusively for this event, A Garden Party to Make a Difference will also feature appearances, debates, comedy and advice from the likes of Jools Holland, Sir David Frost, Alan Tichmarsh and Anthony Worral Thompson over the twelve days.

The Future Cities Garden – Innovative Edible Gardening

Renowned organic farmer, gardener, writer and broadcaster Tom Petherick has formed an association with garden and landscape design team Lulu Urquhart and Adam Hunt and the first joint project will be their ‘Future Cities Garden’ installation on the South facade of St James’s Palace – a project conceived for this special garden party.

Petherick, Urquhart and Hunt aim to combine their expertise and experience to create a future orientated landscape design practice. A consultancy with a point of difference that will champion sustainable, spiritually intact gardens and working landscapes with integrity.

The team believe that the ‘Garden Party to Make a Difference’ is the perfect launch pad for their new association. “We couldn’t have wished for a better opening opportunity to showcase our skills. The Prince has a passion for the environment and all things sustainable and this is totally in line with our ethos. When we were approached to come up with a display for the South Facade of St James’s Palace it was a unanimous yes”

Tom, Lulu and Adam are keen that their display will convey to visitors that gardening in small spaces is both possible, desirable and with a little effort can herald spectacular results that combine invention, inspiration, amusement and accessibility. The intention is also to show that both quantity and quality can be realized from small areas. Visitors will not fail to be inspired by such a simple and clearly executed ‘ABC of how to grow edible plants’ and how to achieve a lot from a little effort.

All four seasons will be represented and demonstrate what can be grown in each quarter of the year. Productive gardening happens all year round and is not confined to spring and summer. The idea is to show a rhythmical display following the seasons. Novice gardeners will learn how to convert existing spaces on to a more sustainable footing.

A fifth area will combine demonstrations of compost and tools and show how to convert space and containers into growing areas. The display will be overflowing with edible fruits, plants, traditional vegetables and edible & medicinal flowers and will show how everyday items that are cheap or recycled can be used to create innovative and funky growing spaces, both vertically and horizontally.

The overall aim of the team is to provide an attraction that encapsulates the show philosophy of getting people in cities growing plants, growing food, loving plants and being more sustainably aware.

Tickets, priced £15 for adults and £7.50 for children are on sale now. Tickets are timed for purposes of entrance only. Full details are available on the Garden Party website www.startgardenparty.co.uk <http://www.startgardenparty.co.uk/>

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Vavilov Horticultural Research Institute in Pavlovsk

The Vavilov institute in St. Petersburg, Russia, is one of the most important in Europe and it looks set to lose a vitally important research station housing more than 4000 fruit and berry species, many of which are extinct in their natural habitats.  Since these are live plants, they cannot be preserved by storing seeds or other materials in a seedbank, they must be kept growing.  This research station, consisting of 910,000 sq meters, is the largest field genebank in Europe.

Staff at the facility say a planned move would take at least 15 years to complete, and they are being given just 3 months.  The loss to science and global biodiversity would be devastating if this forced move proceeds as planned.

The institute lost a case in court brought by property developers who want to use the site to build exclusive housing.  An appeal to the ruling is pending, but this is expected to lose.  Apparently in this case the law seems to be solidly on the side of the property developers.

The last remaining hope is intervention by either Russian President Medvedev or Prime Minister Putin, either one of which can set aside the court ruling.  Via Twitter, President Medvedev announced he would look into the matter.

You can help by making a personal appeal to the Kremlin!  You can sign an online petition here.  You can also write the Kremlin a letter.  Or tweet them at @KremlinRussia_E.  Time is running out!