A Day in the Beanfields

I went to check on the beans. What a good feeling to see the little sprouts making their way up!

We grow most of the beans three-to-a-bed but the runner beans, runner cannellini, scarlet runners, etc., are so big that we grow them two-to-a-bed.

In Mexico, a friend told me that they sometimes eat the young seedlings at this point, sauteed in butter. It seems a shame to lose out on the beans but maybe it's worth trying if you have a short season.

This is the seeder. The plastic bins in the back are loaded with seed and some insane imagination come up with the system that really does precise seeding.

The beans (seeds) are sucked into place by a vacuum.

This field was problematic and the red water stops control how much water gets through. You want to wet the space between the beds but not the beds themselves as they get brittle and crackle as they dry if they're too damp.

Fun, huh?

Comments

[lq]

When I planted my garden in late April and early May, I planted beans along the fence; I had saved a few beans from each package of RG beans I cooked last year. They have all sprouted and are climbing up the fence. Very pretty! Thanks, Steve!