Oh my word, yesterday was such a gorgeous day! I think I must have spent at least 5 hours puttering around the garden. And I do mean puttering. Monkey Boy cleared a small area of brush towards in the front yard, The Girl weeded the raspberry paths, and I planted another round of beans. This time time I planted 2 garden beds full of Black Valentine beans. If you look closely at the photograph you’ll even notice a wee bit of green. This year I decided to do a little companion planting. Did you know green beans and carrots love growing next to each other? It’s true. They are very compatible.
Everyone in our house loves green beans. Monkey Boy and The Girl love them raw, and the HH, The Girl and I love them cooked. So to keep a plentiful supply of fresh green beans on hand during the summer, I try and plant them every two weeks starting at the end of May all the way up until the first part of August. With a continued harvest, there are typically enough green beans to each fresh, can, and even a few pounds to giveaway.
This year we are growing 5 types of beans:
- Black Valentine {bush}
- Mayflower {pole}
- Yardlong Asparagus {pole}
- Royal Burgundy {bush}
- California Black Eyed Beans {bush}
When it comes to planting green beans {and peas too} I tend to over seed. In years past, we have had issues with the robins snacking on bean sprouts, but this year it didn’t seem to be a problem. So yesterday, I had to thin out the Mayflower pole beans I planted 2 weeks ago around the bean teepees we built. And just in case you are wondering, I do not thin them out to the recommended 4 to 6 inches apart. Personally, I think that’s nuts. I usually go for about 2″ apart to maximize my harvest.
Chickens by the way, love bean sprouts.
So what did you do yesterday? Did you get any garden chores done? Have you planted your beans yet? Do you plant them all at once or several times during the growing season?
Mavis want’s to know.
Want to learn more about the magical fruit? Check out Bean By Bean: A Cookbook: More than 200 Recipes for Fresh Beans, Dried Beans, Cool Beans, Hot Beans, Savory Beans…Even Sweet Beans! By Crescent Dragonwagon. Amazon currently has the book on sale for $10.85.
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