We took advantage of a break in the weather today to collect any dry pods before the rain picks up again. This damp autumn is quite a contrast to our dry summer here.
We harvested almost all of our main dry bean crop, Tongues of Fire, and a bit of Hutterite but it's still not quite ready...
I like seeing all the bean photos as they dry! Unfortunately nothing dry here yet (other than our yellow peas). But here's a photo of Viola that we took a few weeks ago. We are really enjoying this bean! I know you listed it as a dry bean, @Bluejay77, and we will harvest most dry but I tried...
I've been able to hand pollinate quite a few of the plants now and some of my pumpkins are looking close to full size. Here are some pictures of the pollination process.
Male flowers that were taped shut the previous evening:
Female flower on the same plant that was taped shut the previous...
I've got quite a few buds forming on the largest plants. How long do you expect until they're ready for pollination? I'm guessing a few days to a week.
Once the flowers are almost ready to open, I am planning to tape flowers shut each evening, then open and self the flowers on each plant in...
Yes, I did get seed from you - thank you. It's very nice. Everyone in our family picked out a different seed. There is a pretty good variety, so I'm hoping it will be a good test of what grows well for us. Maybe next year I will grow some for the network.
I feel like I'm a little late to the party. Just getting flowers on some of my beans...
Dapple gray is looking healthy but no flowers.
Viola looks like it has flower buds ready to open.
Fort Portal Jade looks a bit runty but is flowering.
Gisele Waldbeantsje is flowering nicely.
Red...
Thank you. I have about 30 good looking plants. At this point the only real threat is weeds and giving them enough water. It has been dry lately so we are irrigating. I knocked back the weeds yesterday, so they should be set for a bit. Deer could become an issue since this part of the...
The plants are looking good, @Zeedman. I should have asked before planting, but what growing habit should I expect? Compact or spreading? Is there anything I should watch for early on to eliminate off-types or will we need to just wait until harvest to check for hulls?
There is a simple solution to your dilemma, @Pulsegleaner. Move to Michigan! Though it isn’t the best time to buy a house.
I’ve got a pretty decent start on our bean patch, though maybe a bit later than I was hoping. The Christmas tree poles are looking like they will work well. The birds...
That's a really interesting idea, @heirloomgal! I have never intentionally pruned a bean plant, but seems like a good experiment for this year's garden. I'll see if I can do some side by side comparisons with the same variety.
Thank you @heirloomgal! I like the possibility of getting some extra plants out of this. Those tall ones are Rosella cherry tomatoes. They are first to sprout and seem to grow fastest for us. Very vigorous!
Yeah. It certainly would have shut off at the set temp if I had put the temperature probe in the soil. Without that, it's just running the heating mat full time. I didn't really know how hot the mat could get without a controller. Maybe I could wire up a second safety shutoff on the mat...