flowerbug
Garden Master
it happens, i think i may have no seeds from several plantings here too this season.
i won't know until all the gardens are gone through.
2020 Little Easy Bean Network - An Exciting Adventure In Heirloom Beans !
- Thread starter Blue-Jay
- Start date
it happens, i think i may have no seeds from several plantings here too this season.
i won't know until all the gardens are gone through.
flowerbug
Garden Master
i can get that ways with the box tops as i'm drying down the beans before i do the first sort. since sometimes i am picking the more plump and not so dry beans i have to spread them out and let them dry for a week or so before i sort them into their own boxes. i can't really use plastic containers at that stage because the moisture content is too high and some will get fungus growing on them. the box tops allow the beans to breathe a bit more, plus i stir them at least once a day to encourage them to dry evenly.
the box tops with the first sorting of the beans are not usually done again until later in the fall or in the winter, it depends upon how much bad weather we have and how much time i can get outside to put the gardens up and to work on outdoors projects, but once the weather closes in and gets rainy or too cold and windy then i can start my second sorting where i cull out the rejects (that we'll eat first) and get the major groups broken out.
i'm looking forwards to several box tops that i'll have to sort out that contain a lot of different beans so far because it will be interesting to see what i've got in them.
this morning i have a flat of beans to shell out and then once it gets warm and dry enough outside i'll be out picking some more.
perfect weather really (other than the frost).
flowerbug
Garden Master
my experiment the other day of picking Purple Dove for shellies turned out ok. i'm having some for lunch right now.
they were a bit more work to shell out than i would like from a shelly bean, the limas are a bit easier, still the result is acceptable.
the taste is similar to a very mild pinto bean, the texture is creamy like they are when they're cooked from dried beans.
they do take a while longer to cook though than the lima beans, the skins take a while to get tender. in our microwave i think i had them in there for nearly 35-40 minutes (bring them to a boil and then simmered on lower power until done).
one thing that people would not like is that they lose most of the purple color but not all so the cooked result is a very bland greyish color. lol i don't particularly care (it all comes out brown anyways ), they're delicious...
they were a bit more work to shell out than i would like from a shelly bean, the limas are a bit easier, still the result is acceptable.
the taste is similar to a very mild pinto bean, the texture is creamy like they are when they're cooked from dried beans.
they do take a while longer to cook though than the lima beans, the skins take a while to get tender. in our microwave i think i had them in there for nearly 35-40 minutes (bring them to a boil and then simmered on lower power until done).
one thing that people would not like is that they lose most of the purple color but not all so the cooked result is a very bland greyish color. lol i don't particularly care (it all comes out brown anyways
), they're delicious... 
Artorius
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@flowerbug
I often stir beans in boxes. I also put in them such small bags with moisture-absorbing balls. I don't know what it is called in English.
flowerbug
Garden Master
flowerbug
Garden Master
i've been picking, drying, shucking and sorting. i've managed to keep up with drying, shucking and the first rough sort so my room isn't quite the stack of drying boxes as it has been some other years.
the last big harvest is today and tomorrow for the latest bush beans that were planted on June 12th. most of them are PDs that were just finishing up their blooming and setting pods when the frosts came along. gladly it looks like much of that crop was not lost.
sadly i don't think much of the pole lima bean crop will be viable.
the brown lima beans for the network though ended up being bush beans so they came through well enough.
the last big harvest is today and tomorrow for the latest bush beans that were planted on June 12th. most of them are PDs that were just finishing up their blooming and setting pods when the frosts came along. gladly it looks like much of that crop was not lost.
sadly i don't think much of the pole lima bean crop will be viable.
the brown lima beans for the network though ended up being bush beans so they came through well enough.
- Thread starter
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Blue-Jay
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@baymule,
I have to add my two cents to the "That Happens" plate. As hard as the weather was on some bean varieties here this summer. I can only imagine your Texas summer must have been just Brutal. Is there a better time to grow beans in Texas than summertime? Like maybe Late February to May?
I have grown Black Cattle this summer and I am getting beans. I'll try Best Of All wax in another year when I grow a group of snap beans all together in a bunch. I keep my stringless bush snap beans isolated from all the other types.
I have to add my two cents to the "That Happens" plate. As hard as the weather was on some bean varieties here this summer. I can only imagine your Texas summer must have been just Brutal. Is there a better time to grow beans in Texas than summertime? Like maybe Late February to May?
I have grown Black Cattle this summer and I am getting beans. I'll try Best Of All wax in another year when I grow a group of snap beans all together in a bunch. I keep my stringless bush snap beans isolated from all the other types.
Artorius
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The Tennessee Greasy Mix bean continue to bloom and form pods. I've already harvested some dry ones. I think she like the climate of my mountains. According to the latest forecasts, the first frost in my region will be in four weeks, so I will have quite a lot of seeds.
baymule
Garden Master
@Bluejay77 we had a late frost this year so I held off on planting some things. April can be iffy, if I plant in April it might get frosted, might not. May is safe to plant. This year, we went from winter straight to summer. I planted beans the first of June and they didn’t do well. Next year I’ll plant the first of May. Now that it has cooled off I have ONE Best of All Wax plant that has pods on it. Hope they make!
flowerbug
Garden Master
the end of May is when we start planting all the way up here! down there i think you'll have a tough time with some bean varieties for sure as we have a tough time with them up here.
but the bonus down there would be peas can probably be planted pretty early like in late February to mid-March or so? mmM...
