Knowledgebase
Oregon Blue Lake pole beans #752315
Asked May 26, 2021, 2:50 PM EDT
Clackamas County Oregon
Expert Response
I've reached out to OSU vegetable breeder and here is their response:
Is OBL a local seed company?
I am surprised by the short viability time of the bean seed. Two years would be what expect if the seeds are stored under high humidity and temperatures. If kept cool and dry, I would expect up to 10 years and >50 years is stored in the freezer.
Concerning the Blue Lake parent, I’ve never seen anything of common bean with a 20’ vine – perhaps 15’ max with some tropical varieties. There are several cultivars of the Pole Blue Lake such as FM1 or S7. Most seed sources leave out this information and just call them Pole Blue Lake, so one is not sure what they are getting. The old cultivars varied in plant growth habit, and these different types may have had differences in vine length.
I don’t have a particular recommendation on where to get seed but Seed Savers Exchange (https://exchange.seedsavers.org/) has several PBL cultivars including the two I mentioned above. One does need to be a SSE member to be able to request seed through this service. Looks like that there is a lot of FM1K seed currently on the market through several nontraditional vendors. The “K” indicates that this is particular strain of FM1. Key to getting a good cultivar is buying from someone who has done a good job of maintaining it. This can be hard to determine but one can check customer comments and sometimes get a handle on this.
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I hope this information helps.
----- Original Message -----From: Ask ExtensionSent: Tuesday, June 01, 2021 2:22 PMSubject: Re: Oregon Blue Lake pole beans (#0022246)