Sunday, September 28, 2008

Beans, the magical fruit

Our dried bean harvest --
Hidatsa Shield
We let them dry on the vine, then shelled them this weekend.
G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S
There isn't a person who has been able to resist
doing just what Baby Truen is doing in this picture.
They feel so nice.

Due to the pretty consistent turmoil,
I haven't gotten many pictures of the brothers together recently
But good news:
they are starting to laugh at each other and play together!!
[Figures.]
I am so pleased.

Lil Baby Pumpkin likes to eat pumpkins, apparently --
and Diego thinks his Dada is the funniest man alive.
Speaking of hilarious, check out that Jack-o-Lantern on the left.
That would be Squeeze's;
I've been laughing every time I look at it --
I think it looks like a robo-squash just tweaked on the bum.

And finally...
I'd like to announce that
I have a great affection for David Bowie.
It's true.

5 comments:

Sandy said...

Tell us more about drying the beans on the vine. Of course we've gotten SO much rain recently that I finally took some off and am drying them on the dining room table. When are they "done"?

lil' mama said...

Can't wait to meet the lil critters ! They are adorable! Love the pumpkins (and Pumpkin too). You've inspired me to go get some and decorate my porch:) See you soon.

a. borealis said...

We're following instructions from Seed to Seed. Though most of them are for eating, I think it makes sense to follow their rules.

They say to let the seed dry on the vine, as it pulls the maximum value out of the plant. Even when there is danger of frost (or perhaps too much rain), they advise to pull the entire plant up and hang it upside down in a garage to continue drying.

They are dry enough when they shatter when hammered instead of smoosh. [Although...would store-bought dried beans actually shatter? I'm not sure.] Then they should be frozen for several days to kill the bean weevil eggs. If stored for long enough without freezing, the weevils will wreak havoc on the seed.

We aren't done yet, but these are the instructions we will be following.

What bean did you grow? Isn't it exciting?!

a. borealis said...

Kates! I'm looking forward to it as well.

Sandy said...

Yes, it IS exciting! Thanks for the info. The beans I'm trying to save for seeds (because my bean harvest really wasn't that successful) are my father-in-law's Portuguese pole beans. They look like an Italian long flat bean. They too leave the beans on the vine until "crunchy" (victor's word) on the outside. The other issue I had is ... the DEER are BACK. (they were eating my beans and plants) I guess I need a fence ... But I don't want one! Maybe I should try the garage tactic. Thanks for the info. :)