Beans

East of Guapo's paddock space, I have a garden area of about 20' x 60'. Last year it was the potato garden. I had planned to use it for squashes, cucumbers and beans which is actually what is growing out there. What I had not planned on was neglecting it so badly that it would be overtaken by weeds, mostly purslane, and a severe lack of rainfall. I also planned to add a couple more rows of beans to stagger the harvest. That did not happen. I did water now and then, though it appears to have been to little, too late for the cukes. The squashes are holding their own.

The green and yellow beans grew extremely well and I when went out to check on them this afternoon, I found I was about two days away from having waited too long to pick. I picked several pounds of green and yellow beans in less than 30 minutes.



I have determined that the thick mat of purslane growing between the rows may actually have acted as a mulch, holding much needed moisture in the soil. When I was picking I found my shoes and the tins I was using to hold the beans filling with these tiny black somethings that initially I assumed were the excrement from some little caterpillar, but then found that they were purslane seeds. So, I should get at least one more pick out of the beans which would be wonderful. My plan is to blanch and freeze the beans, probably tomorrow If I can eek out some time between jobs.


The bean harvest with a fraction of the tomatoes from a prior picking. We are planning to freeze the tomatoes whole. That's a story for another day.