Bean Eater!

Settle down.

Take it easy.

It’s not what you think.

Honestly.

Did you think…

Never mind.

There’s some real, live bean eaters in the garden.  I can’t spot them to squash them and control the problem.  I’ve looked for grasshoppers and caterpillars.  I can’t find anything.  Yet.These stealth like terrorists are not only eating the leaves on the vines, they are eating through the pods to the beans.  Crickey!  The search continues or I won’t have enough beans to make a decent pot of beans.

Magical Fruit

Organic Garden Bean Blue Lake FM-1 (Pole Type) from Park Seed Co. was finally planted on June 19, 2011 after the sweet peas were cleared from the support.  The beans germinated a short 6 days later on June 25th.   Here’s what Park Seed Co. uses for a description:

Extra Early Pods are Stringless and Fiberless!

White seeds are tender and delicious!

60 days. A classic choice for early beans of highest quality eating, Blue Lake FM-1 sets pods that remain stringless and fiberless at all stages of growth! The dark green pods are tender and rich, filled with white seeds and an incomparable flavor.

Many gardeners prefer pole beans for their distinctive "beany" flavor. Because they use vertical space, they free up the horizontal rows in the vegetable garden for other varieties while bearing abundant harvests. They're easier than bush beans to harvest as well. Direct-sow after all danger of frost, and for best harvest, keep sowing at 3-week intervals until late spring. For fall crops, begin in late summer and continue until a month or so before first frost date. Support the 5- to 8-foot vines on a trellis, tower, or poles spaced 3 feet apart. Pkt is 2 ounces (about 100 seeds).

More seeds will be planted this week and the following week to insure a bunch of beans for the freezer.University of Illinois Extension

3 Sisters

This summer, corn is taking the spotlight in the garden .  Much study of a variety of resources led me to try the 3 Sisters method of growing corn.  Corn, beans, and squash grown together are supposed to compliment each other.  The corn should be planted in a block of 4 rows to help with pollination.  I’ve decided to stagger the planting with 2 rows planted today and 2 more planted in about 2 weeks.  I may plant more corn, 2 rows at a time.  The outside rows will be planted with Borlotto Solista Beans.  The beans will use the corn stalks as support.  These type of pole beans were grown last summer.  They are flashy and delicious.

On the north and south ends of the rows, Lemon Squash will be planted a little later.  However, good old Louise Riotte suggests in her book Carrots Love Tomatoes that planting squash early or late in the season helps to avoid insect damage.  She also suggests to plant nasturtiums in an effort to repel squash bugs.  I can do that.

Initially, Teddy Bear Sunflowers were planted surrounding the bed intended for corn.  Plans changed and that’s fine because it turns out that sunflowers don’t get along with beans.  Hope the tomatoes like Teddy Bears.  They’re going to be neighbors soon.

Here’s a seed catalog description of Golden Bantam Yellow Sweet Corn: 

E.L. Coy sold two quarts of seeds to Mr. Burpee in 1900 amd stated. “You now own the very sweetest and richest corn ever known.”  Very sweet, juicy, corny tast from 6” ears bearing 10-14 rows of deep, buttery kernels.  Good yields.

I’m crossing my gloved fingers that corn will be a success in the garden during the summer of 2011.

Red

There is red in the garden.

Hummingbird / Bee Feeder

 

Merlot Lettuce

 

Strawberries

 

Cimmaron Romaine Lettuce

 

Borlotto Solista Beans

 

Brune d’Hiver Lettuce

 

Early Wonder Beets

 

Broken bit of summer scare tape among the fall leaves.

 

 

Perhaps there will also be a lot more red throughout American gardens tomorrow.

Please vote.

Garden Update

The weather has been great.  Yesterday it was cool and rainy!  It’s May and it was cool and rainy!!!  Here’s a quick garden update:The strawberries are really producing well.  They’ve been fed (Dr. Earth), irrigated daily, and are enjoying full sun.  The fruit size is large and well developed.  There is some loss to insects; but no loss to birds.  The scare tape and owl kite seem to be great scarecrows.French Breakfast Radishes were planted among the Lemon Squash on 05/15/10.  They germinated today, 05/18/10.  The purpose of planting them with the squash is to repel pests that could damage the squash.  If anyone is new to gardening with seeds and would like to enjoy fast results, these radishes should do the trick.In the holes of the cinder block that form the raised bed for the peppers, I planted some Borlotto Solista Beans.  They are only planted on the north side of the bed to allow for maximum sun to the peppers.  Al Kuffa tomatoes are also sharing the bed with the soon to be planted peppers. A few small oranges are hanging on to the Robertson Navel Orange tree.  I thought this tree might be in danger of being lost; but it looks like it is gaining strength and may grow vigorously.  Sadly, the Satsuma Mandarin was pitched into the green waste.  It’s root system was very small and the tree ended with no leaves.

All the tomatoes have been planted (37 plants) with the remaining to be given away.  Four of the tomato plants were auctioned at today’s meeting of the Daughters of the British Empire. It was a nice day in the garden.

Summer Crops – Part III

Moving further to the east…

This bed still has a few items leftover from fall.  There were peas on the far left.  Those are long gone.  Next is garlic.  I suspect that will be harvested soon as the greens are drying out.  Beside the garlic are a few remaining beets.  Beets are harvested each weekend and pickled to be used throughout the week.  Carrots are on the far right.  I may harvest those to make some Basque carrots and clear out the bed. 

Hot peppers will be grown here through the summer.  From seed, I’ve started Serano and Black Hungarians.  These peppers will be used to make salsa all summer long.  Wonderful, delicious salsa to enjoy all summer long kind of takes the edge off of disliking summer so much.  Another use for the harvest is pepper poppers.  These are like candy to Farmer MacGregor.

I don’t believe the seedlings I have will fill the bed; so I would like to grow beans.  Cannellini beans.  Lidia’s Italy on PBS   provided a nice recipe using  cannellini beans.  These would be superb to have on hand to add to soups and other dishes.  I’m having a tough time finding a supplier; so that makes me want them all the more.

Meanwhile, here’s the plans for the final bed:

This eastern most bed has been planted with green bunching onions (04/18/10).  They’ve already sprouted (04/29/10).  The sprouts can be thinned soon and used like chives.  Once the onions are about as thick as a pencil, they can be harvested and used in salads, on baked potatoes, and eaten plain.

A dozen metal stakes are now in the bed.  These stakes will have the tomato supports attached to them.  This is the 1st year I’ve strung tomatoes and Farmer MacGregor is blazing the way by constructing fine supports to showoff all the heirloom tomatoes in the garden.  They will take up less space horizontally allowing for companion crops to grow along side and benefit each other.

The tomatoes are on standby ready to be planted as soon as Farmer MacGregor completes construction.  I plan to chronicle how to string tomatoes showing the plans and construction all the way to threading the tomatoes up the twine.

That’s it.  Four raised beds ready to produce a bounty this summer and all it took was a few packets of seed, a ton of labor, and Farmer MacGregor’s know how.  Ain’t he great?