I'm not really a fan of beans, but my daughter loves them, and my son eats out of the garden everyday, so I grow beans. In the spring and fall I grow Bushes beans, but regular beans will not grow in the Summer (I live in N California zone 9B) Luckily I discovered yard long beans those babies thrive in the heat and pump out tons of beans early summer through fall. The first year I collected lot of beans that dried on the vine. I have been using them for about 3 years now. Last year I thought I should gather new seeds. I let a bunch dry, picked them, and left them sitting on the outside table. They have been there long enough the box they were in isn't a box anymore. They have been exposed to the sun, and rain for many months, and I figured I would toss them out. No way they could be any good.
I have decided to use straw as mulch this year. The only straw I can get is not organic. I'm told it's perfectly safe, but I a suspicious sort. So I pulled out a little channel put some soil in it. put some straw in a bucket and filled with water. Now to plant the beans. oops! I'm out of beans. Impatient to start I grab 2 of the table beans. Several days later I planted a couple of beans I bought. I really can't believe it one of the table beans has sprouted. Those are some very tough beans. I really can't believe they are still good. Amazing.
It's too soon to know if the straw is ok to use, but I should know soon.
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table beans/yard long beans
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Bean growing in the straw bale
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” — Abraham Lincoln
To me, beans are one of the easiest plants to start with.
Easy to grow, easy to harvest, easy to cook and so yes, beans are amazing.
Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
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