Skip to main content

A Few Bean Varieties

First off, let me be clear--there were several weeks this summer when we had NO rain that I sincerely doubted we'd have a bean harvest. Thank God for rain, just in time.


And in all fairness, "it isn't a crop until it's in the bin". Bean growers in the thumb of Michigan have suffered losses very recently due to 5+ inches of rain all at once.


So we still aren't guaranteed a harvest. But so far, it's looking good!


If you look closely, you'll see differences in the size and characteristics of these beans.


Some mature earlier (you can tell by the yellowing of the plant). Some are smaller plants than others.


There are a couple more types of beans we didn't photograph. It started dripping when we were taking photos, and we thought we might melt. Not pictured are: black turtle beans, nuñas, and pintos.

Comments

  1. Here's hoping (and praying!) for a good harvest!

    Love the different beans you are growing this year. Will you keep some back for yourself to sample the different ones and compare taste and quality? That would be neat! I've heard of some of the varieties and wanted to try them in my small garden but haven't.

    Hope you all are well! How are the newlyweds?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cary, we don't have a contract or a buyer for the heirloom beans. So we will keep all of them and visit lots of farmers' markets this fall. And of course you can't sell what you don't know, so I see a lot of bean-eating in our near future!

      The newlyweds are happy--we've seen them a couple of times since the wedding.

      Delete
  2. Today I was shucking beans by hand at my in laws. Posted photos on instagram and facebook.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice crop you got there! In my country we have a lot of variety of beans here. If you want to know about i recommend you this site http://www.agronet.gov.co its from Colombia but have plenty of info about AG in my country.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bloggy Giveaway--Now Closed

**This bloggy giveaway is now closed** Thanks to all who participated and gave such great comments. Janette is the winner of the $15 gift certificate to our etsy store . I'm participating in the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival . Click the link to go to the carnival where you can enter to win literally hundreds of things. The good news is that even if you have no time to play on the computer trying to win hundreds of things, you can still enter to win one thing right here. This week, I will be giving away a $15 gift certificate to be used toward the purchase of an item in my etsy shop . This contest is open to residents of the United States or Canada only. The winner will receive free shipping on whatever item they choose. Items in my etsy shop include handwoven rugs, wool yarns and roving from our farm, and the ever-popular cotton dishcloth! To be entered in this wonderful drawing, you must go to the etsy shop and look around a bit. Then come back here and type a comment that ...

Haying 101

A few posts back, "deep end of the loom" (love that name!) asked me to tell a bit more about the haying process. If you want my version, read on. If you'd like to read the official wikipedia version, click here . Haying happens in three steps: cutting, raking and baling. This process takes several days, as the hay must be dry when baled. Moist hay molds and heats up and has even been known to spontaneously combust, burning down the barn. Gotta have dry hay. This first photo is of our haybine. The haybine not only cuts the hay, it also crimps each piece of long grass in several places, to allow for faster drying. We usually cut hay in the early afternoon, when the dew is gone. When we're done, long row of cut grass lie waiting. The hay is allowed to dry for two to three days, depending on wind and sun conditions. Obviously, the more wind and sun the days hold, the quicker the hay will dry. When we feel like the hay is nearly dry, we go out with the rake. There are diff...

This Giveaway Is Now Closed!

Today starts a giveaway at Farming in the Shade! I am happy to contribute this complete hat kit (needles not included) to someone who has a knitting obsession and a small person in their life. Here are the rules (contest open to US or Canada residents only): Giveaway ends May 1 at 9 p.m. EST. Winner will be announced by Sunday, May 3. Enter by posting a comment on this blog post. Tell me something about your knitting--who taught you to knit, your favorite yarn, the coolest thing you ever knitted. Make sure you leave contact information! Earn extra entries by: 1) Following me on twitter. (If you don't know what twitter is, don't worry. It's another way to waste your time on the computer.)  Add a comment here so I will count it as one entry. 2) Tweeting this giveaway (no more than once daily). Add a comment here so I know you did it. 3) Blog about this giveaway. Add a comment (with link) here so I can go visit your blog. 4) Follow or subscribe to this blog (or tell me if have...