One Seed

When you have a modest harvest of beans, the shelling-out is easy. "I like to break them open," says Lucia.  "Very zen." In years past, I would wait for a rainy afternoon and then queue up a bunch of dumb movies to watch while I shelled beans and peas.  It is, in fact, very zen. HOWEVER, if you planted--and picked--a lot of beans, it will take a long time to remove all those pods.   Who has that much attention span?  Not me! Patty and I needed a more efficient process. The Wisdom of the Internet suggested "the pillowcase method", in which the (very) dry pods are dumped into a pillowcase and stomped on, preferably by children. We didn't have a handy pillowcase, but we found an old feed sack to put the pods into. We also didn't have a child handy, so we borrowed one from a friend. The "pillowcase method" resulted in a large amount of mostly-smashed-open pods inside the feed sack, with a pile of bean seeds at the bottom. We went out into th...

I've been corresponding about our bean project with Janice, a representative for the Central Bean Company, and learning a lot. Pretty little 1-pound bags of beans at the Central Bean Company Here's something I know now: Central Bean, located in Quincy Washington, produces real Orca beans. Not everyone who claims to do that really does. I found similar false claims from Ujaama Seeds , North Circle Seeds , Adaptive Seeds ,  Annie's Heirloom Seeds , and even Walmart , and many others.  Dr. Miles told me that when she reached out to these seed suppliers to tell them of the error,  they mostly shrugged and said something like "eh, who cares?" Here are things to know about Orcas:   Orca beans are not  an heirloom variety.  If you see claims about black-and-white beans being "a dramatic find in 1992" or "preserved over generations", it's not an Orca bean.  Orca beans are not  "also known as Ying/Yang, Calypso, or Wolverine beans".  Those...

The beans are getting green, it's time to taste some!   Julie's beans!  (south Everett) Carly's beans are growing slowly but check out the sunflowers! (Lake Stevens) Orca beans are generally grown as shelly (soup) beans, but it's hard to resist those green beauties.  Go ahead and pick some to enjoy now! Anne's beans!  (P-patch, Shoreline) I usually stand in the garden and eat green beans raw*, or haul them up to the kitchen and steam them for a few minutes before serving with a scattering of salt and pepper.   Orca beans are delicious to eat green when very young and flat.  Once the bean seeds begin to develop, the pods become stringy. Betsey's beans are starting to fatten up! (Everett) If you want to try something a little different, consider  PICKLED BEANS -- great to serve on salads, in drinks like a Bloody Mary, or even just as a snack right out of the jar. PICKLED BEANS (and other veg) - Oregon State University Extension Service Make you...

There is plenty of online chatter about "companion planting" and "trap cropping" in the vegetable garden.  But what does that mean? Basically:  some plants are (possibly) helpful to other plants. Beans (and also marigolds) at Haiku Farm Digging a little deeper: A common companion-planting scheme is the  Three Sisters Garden,  in which the three crops of squash, beans, and corn are interplanted on the same plot of ground.   The theory is that bean plants enrich the soil to feed the corn and squash.  Squash plants sprawl over the ground, shade the soil and choke out weeds around beans and corn.  Corn plants grow tall and provide a trellis for beans to climb. Typical Three Sisters planting plan This is often touted as a "Native American practice" without citing which of the 1000+ tribes, bands and family groups scattered over 3.8 million square miles use(d) the method--a bright flashing light to alert us that important details are being overlooked. T...

The beans have been growing for ten or eleven weeks now!* *except mine because I don't follow my own advice . Julie's beans are blooming on an east-facing balcony! (South Everett) Kirby's plants are doing great in this raised bed! (Marysville) Lucia has guard rails up to keep the bunnies out! (Mt Vernon) Patty's beans in the foreground are happy in aged manure, and beans in the background are less-happy in fresher, hotter manure. (Fish Creek Farm, Arlington) Betsey had to replant after predators killed the first plants. (North Everett) Funder has blossoms and beans in the garden. (Poulsbo) Shannon's beans are starting to bulge! (Lake Stevens) Melody and Adrian have kept their beans alive, despite caring for two young children! (Arlington) Mark's container-grown plants get plenty of light and water, but seem underwhelmed by their life choices--possibly because there are onions planted nearby? (Everett) * Because I planted in late April instead of Mother's Day...