This row of beans is not Spartan Arrow beans. It is probably Contender or Provider. That was what we planted in 2010. They were decent in taste but tended to be on the not tender side. I can't say enough for the Spartan Arrow beans. We feel so fortunate to have found a distributor of the seed, for five years we have been looking for the seed. This company is where we acquired the seed:
http://www.rispensseeds.com/
(Received our seeds November 8, 2011. It was only 5 days after ordering. They were packaged excellently.
Thank you Rispen for your great customer service.)
(Received our seeds November 8, 2011. It was only 5 days after ordering. They were packaged excellently.
Thank you Rispen for your great customer service.)
Today we called the company and they have a few pounds left from this years inventory. They will not be handling it in 2012. I have not found any other source for the seed.
We will be planting the seed spring 2012. I have garden area reserved for seed, which is not organic (the seed is treated). We will be planting rows for harvest fresh and rows that will be saved for seed. The beans will be raised organic even though they are treated seed. We are fortunate to have plenty of garden spaces.
Pluses we discovered about this incredible bean:
Productivity to the extreme; it produced under adverse conditions
(in the extreme heat and when the weather turned too cold)
It was not susceptible to any the diseases in our area.
Storm damage was minimal, the plants are very strong.
The beans were held high on the plants in large bunches, not down at the base of the plant.
The flavor of the bean was superior to any bean we ever had, including the great long bean taste.
They stayed on the plant with out getting tough, longer than other beans we've tried.
Just like their name says they are very straight and seemed to stay straight during periods of uneven watering.
Right now I can't think of more accolades for the variety, but just remembering them is making me drool. I can't wait to take pictures and share with you. Saving this variety is at the top of our gardening agenda.
The above info is from an article Edited by James Nienhuis and Michell E. Sass, Department of Horticulture, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 and James R. Myers, Department of Horticulture,
This Seed deserves to have a place in our gardens.
I hope I have encouraged you to save seed.
February 1, 2013 Update addition
I found these articles which adds more pluses to the pluses for Spartan Arrow Bush Beans:
http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/schenectady/new/pdf/ag%20fact%20sheets/vegetables/Seed%20Maggots.pdf
Under the "management" section of the article they specify spartan Arrow Beans.
Spartan Arrow (MSU 303) - Breeder: Michigan Agric. Expt. Sta., East Lansing. Vendor: Northrup, King and Co., Minneapolis, Joseph Harris, Rochester, New York and others. Parentage: selection of a cross Tenderbest x Contender. Characteristics: concentrated pod set, good holding quality; pods heavy, straight, separate easily from plant, slow seed and fiber development. Resistance: common mosaic virus strains 1 and 15. Similar: Bountiful, Contender. Michigan Quart. Bulletin 45, 608, 1963.
The above info is from an article Edited by James Nienhuis and Michell E. Sass, Department of Horticulture, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 and James R. Myers, Department of Horticulture,
Oregon State University.
Corvallis, OR 97331-7304
This Seed deserves to have a place in our gardens.
I hope I have encouraged you to save seed.
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I have been looking for these seeds. How can I get some????
ReplyDeleteWe have been looking for another source since we found the seeds at the above seed company. We have not found anyone handling the variety. You could contact "Rispen Seeds" to see if they still have some. The seeds we purchased from them we knew were already 2 years old. I tested the ones I still have and I am still getting 90 percent germination. I saved some seed in 2012 (a ground hog devastated our patch). It tested at 100 percent the other day. We will be saving seed from the beans we grew last year. It will be organically raised. We plant no other beans around it. Wish I could help you out. Please post if you find another source for it.
DeleteConnie, I wish I did,maybe after rasing them this year we will. But the seed I have is not fresh seed. I'll post if I do this fall.
Deletelooking for spartin arrow bean seed, do you have any for sale?
ReplyDeleteJordon seeds.com has them for $2.90 a unit. I love Spartan Arrow. Have been planting them for years, of which I used to get them from Henry Fields until they quit carrying them. I then bought them from Rispen Seeds and now will buy them from Jordan Seeds. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteUsabraat1
Thank you so much for replying. We had never heard of Jordan seeds. I am going to proof the seeds I have this week to see if there is any viability. Hopefully we will be returning to gardening this year. I still can't see how this bean fell out of favor it is the epitome of what a green bean should be in taste and look. It is a gardener's dream in its productivity and livability.
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