Red Noodle Bean

The red seeded Chinese noodle beans are producing like crazy. Every other day our 6 ft row produces 3-4 pounds of beans. That''s today's picking, above. Most beans average about 16 inches long.

I sometimes get a bit aggravated at hearing the same question from visitors to the garden, "But what do you do with them?" I resist raising my voice and saying - They are BEANS, think about it, what do you normally do with BEANS? But I don't. I just explain, they are BEANS, you cook them any way you cook any other green bean. They snap, with no strings, the large ones can be shelled if you choose, you can eat them in any size from 5 inches long (that's one day old) to 16-18 inches (that's a 3 day old bean). Boil, saute, steam, stir-fry or freeze, they are simply BEANS, and my favorite of all the beans I grow. They will keep producing right on to frost if I keep the beans picked. (You can order them from Territorial Seed, as well as Baker Creek Seed and others).

Not only is this an outstanding  bean, the flowers are attractive, as well. They bloom in pairs, which means there are always two beans per stem, which is handy for picking. As the flower wilts by the end of the day, it becomes almost blue instead of lavender.

Another bean I'm growing again this yesr is this one, above, which I've written about a few times before. It's a Seneca Bear Bean, a Native American heirloom bean, traditionally used when cooking bear. Since I don't cook bear, I like them cooked most any other way. They're a shelling bean, ready in the fall after they have dried. (For photos of the beans, go here).

I grow the Seneca beans on an arbor between two raised beds. It makes the beans easy to pick, plus shows off the attractive crimson flowers, which are in bloom  all summer long.

And here, the blossoms of Missouri Wonder pole bean. It grows next to the red seeded long beans, same amount of space, but the long beans outperform the Missouri Wonder beans by 100 to 1. It's an old, reliable heirloom variety, good for shelling beans primarily, but not a heavy producer most years in my garden. The flavor is beefy, hearty and worth the effort of growing it, however. The beans, shown below, are an old favorite from long ago.

The garden today - bright sunlight makes it look dark. Click on the picture to enlarge it. You'll notice sheets and a picnic umbrella to the right - coverings for the tomatoes so they don't sunburn. Stay cool if you can.

The Garden is Still Swimming

It's a shame to complain about rain when there are parts of the Southeastern U.S. that could use some. But this week, we had over 5 inches, 3 inches last week, nearly every week the same all season. The peppers have quit even trying to bloom, several have dropped their leaves and just look bewildered. The Bhut jalokias, though, are continuing to produce lots of those hotter than hot peppers. So far, I've found no one who can even remotely eat a piece of one. I will post a video soon of a friend who tried to eat a tiny piece of one!

The Seneca bear beans are blooming well and are worth growing just for the flowers (I've not tasted the beans yet). I bought the seed from a lady from Minnesota last spring when I ran across her at the Rendezvous at Fort des Chartres at Prairie de Rocher, IL. I asked her why they are called Seneca bear beans and she said, "Because we're Seneca, and we cook them with bear." Makes total sense.

Adam, our summer WOOFer/Intern/Friend, went home for a visit with his father this past week before he's off on his next adventure. We'll miss his work and his company. He was fun to watch work because he was always tasting everything in the garden. He sort of "grazed" on green beans, papalo, tomatoes, figs, whatever he passed and looked good to eat. He has been a joy to work with in the kitchen, always trying new ways of cooking garden produce, always inquisitive. We ate really well from the garden this year and hopefully Adam will return next season. His many projects have made the garden even more enjoyable, and he worked hard to improve the soil and new planting beds.

I've been drying things in the food dehydrator this week. Adam had been drying apples and peaches and some stevia and herbs and since the dryer is out, I just continued keeping it running. This week I put in a tray of black sesame pods to dry before shaking out the seeds. And a tray of hot peppers along with a tray of okra, one of tomatoes and a tray of bhut jalokias for seed.

Molly spent the better parts of 2 days digging under the garden shed, then the Herb Shop porch, after some unnamed animal. Most likely it's an armadillo and most likely she'll eventually either get it, or run it off. But the digging took place in, and after, the rain, so she changed from the black and white dog she normally is, to a brown and black one. It doesn't bother her one bit to dig in a mud puddle if there's something to chase or catch on the other side of it, but any other time, she hates to get in the water for any reason at all. Unlike this little dog I saw on Sunday, quite happy to float on its own little raft while people were swimming nearby (in the Buffalo River).