Dry beans are usually one of the easiest crops that I grow. You just put the seed in the ground, let them grow, dry out and pull the plants when you get around to it. Not this year! With all of the rain we had late in the season many of the beans were rotting, molding and sprouting. So, I had to pull the plants, bring them home and hang them to dry.
I planted 6 varieties of dry beans: Great Northen, Red Kidney, Jacob's Cattle, Trail of Tears, Coco Rubico & Sadie's Horse Beans. The two varieties that I was the most excited about were the Trail of Tears (seed from Daphne) and Sadie's Horse Beans (seed from Diana). I didn't plant many of the Trail of Tears and the yield was good considering the weather. Unfortunately the Sadie's Horse Bean crop was lost entirely due to the wet weather. The yield on the remaining 5 varieties was about half of what they should have been.
Aren't they just Beautiful??
Varieties from left to right: Coco Rubico, Trail of Tears, Jacob's Cattle, Red Kidney and Great Northern white bean in the back.
Total weighed Harvest: 6.1875 lbs
Great Northern - 3 lbs (7 Cups)
Red Kidney - 1.5 lbs (4 Cups)
Jacob's Cattle - 13 oz (2 Cups)
Trail of Tears - 8 oz (1 Cup)
Coco Rubico - 6 oz (1 Cup)
Stop by Daphne's Dandelions our host of Harvest Monday to see what's going on in gardens around the globe!
Wow-they look so nice in the jars. I'd hate to use em and ruin the display-LOL!
ReplyDeleteI love dried beans too! Tasty and nutritious. Keep them dry and you can have food for years. Or plant them next year. The perfect survival food.
ReplyDeleteThey are gorgeous! I didn't grow my own this year but I do love looking at my store bought supply in the glass jars :)
ReplyDeleteThey really are very decorative ... and the good thing is... they are tasty too! I have a very hard time growing dried beans in our location because fall always brings heavy cold rains and it is hard to get the beans matured, dried, and removed before the wet weather settles in. I have had mixed results with drying the vines indoors and prefer to do it in the field if at all possible.
ReplyDeleteGrowing dry beans is always a challenge where autumn weather is rainy. Looks like you made the best of the weather!
ReplyDeleteI too like dried beans but they take up so much room for their yield. I got enough for seed for next year and that is about it but will try again. Just need to decide what to cut out in the garden to make more room.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful beans!!!! I think I might try some next year =)
ReplyDeleteSue, They are beautiful....but, we like to eat them! I've already used some of the kidney beans and they were great!
ReplyDeleteJane, They are definitely a survival food. I have kept some for a couple of years and they are still good!
Erin, I think that I'm going to have to look in to some new varieties for next year. They are just so pretty!
Laura, The beans definitely do better drying outside. If I left them outside this year, I would have lost more then I did. Hopefully they will be a maintenance free crop next year.
Dave, The yield was OK in spite of the horribly wet weather we had.
Wilderness, They do take up a lot of space. I have a longer growing season then you do. So, I plant them as a second crop in any empty space I have.
Dorothy, They are usually a very easy crop to grow....give it a try!
Now all you need is a smoked ham hock :o) and any one of those beans would do for an easy Saturday meal :o)
ReplyDeleteThey DO look so pretty. I have never grown dry beans...in fact I don't cook with them much. I don't know why, we do like them. Hmmm, might be something to think about over the winter as I plan next years garden.
ReplyDeleteThey sure do look nice! I have never grown dry beans. I may try some kidney beans next year now :)
ReplyDeleteGinny, I think we will get a lot of good meals out of those beans! Hmm...smoked ham hock and beans sounds like a nice winter meal!
ReplyDeleteRachel, I use the Great Northern beans to make baked beans. A couple of weeks ago I used some of the kidney beans using a recipe that Marcia posted. If you can plant them in between an early spring crop as a second crop, you can get more use out of space.
Mrs.P, They are usually easy peasy to grow....give them a try!
They are beautiful - I'm growing some dried beans for the first time this year and am really looking forward to them now. How wet is too wet for beans?
ReplyDeleteLiz, At the end of the summer it rained and rained and rained for weeks and weeks. That's too wet for anything! A lot of my huge sage bush even rotted!
ReplyDeleteWe've never grown dried beans - I'm always a bit worried about storing them.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm on the hook to give dry beans a try. I am curious what you put in the ground to get the yield above (which is down 50% over normal?). How many feet did you give to your beans?
ReplyDeleteThey are very striking!
We grew beans for the first time this year and it turned out to be one of our favorite crops. Easy, as you said, and so beautiful. We grew Yellow Indian Beans. We will definitely be growing more next year!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful collection. I love dried beans but lack the garden space to grow them so I visit the health food store. Wish I could grow them as a second crop like you.
ReplyDeleteSue, they are a great crop to plant where ever you have some extra room. They store great! You just need to make sure that they are fully dried before storing.
ReplyDeleteHi Randy, I only amend the soil with compost and maybe some manure unless my soil test shows that some other nutrients may be needed. Then I use the appropiate organic fertilizer. My yield was low due to the escessive rain. I really don't know how much I planted as I stick them in here and there as a second crop as space becomes available.
BLD, Dry beans as usually a great and easy crop to grow.....and you can't beat the beauty and nutrition!
Norma, They do take up a lot of space in the garden. Maybe you can find some room for a vining variety....if not the health food store is a great place to buy them!
They are lovely in those jars.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous crop of dried beans. My harvest of Cherokee Trail of Tears is a fraction of yours. I'll be lucky to get one pot of soup out of them.
ReplyDeleteThanks Marcia
ReplyDeleteThanks Lou, I have no idea what I'm going to make with the Trail of Tear beans. I'm sure that I will think of something! Maybe you should save yours for planting next year.