Garden Goings On August 2015

This summer has provided a few gardening challenges. An unusually wet June and July led to standing water for several weeks. A recent stretch of dry, sunny days has helped some plants recover, but the tomatoes took a hit: we lost almost the entire crop of slicers.

On the upside, successful crops included sour cherry, eggplant, beets, cucumbers and peppers. Looks like the pumpkins and winter squash are bouncing back, tomatillos are filling out and the ornamental broom corn looks fantastic. We're hopeful for the fall harvest.

I should add that the chief gardener is a bit uncomfortable that I'm sharing these photos. Due to the rain, the garden is pretty shaggy. Weeks passed with no tending, and when we finally waded in, the voracious mosquitos drove us out. But this is gardening. We all have good and bad years.

I'd love to hear how your season is progressing. Leave me a comment below!

A harbinger of summer! This is the last of the sunflowers. 

The Fairytale pie pumpkins are doing well. Several applications of
fungicide have helped with mildew issues.

Acorn squash recently set fruit.

Young butternut squash. 

This is the rye cover crop that we didn't terminate this year (plus weeds).

Broom corn is about seven feet tall. Looking forward to using in our fall decorations!

Tongue of Fire shelling bean drying on the bush. 

All the peppers did well, but the banana peppers were the heaviest producers.

This was our best eggplant year with more coming on. LOTS of eggplant parm!

We love this arrowhead cabbage (var. caraflex). The small, compact heads
are the perfect size for the two of us - great for slaws & stir fries. 

Tomatillos are just about ready. Green salsa coming soon!

Drying Shelling Beans

Dried shelling beans are a staple in our pantry - they're a very shelf stable food that makes a hearty addition to meals. Last year we had a good growing season and were able to dry several quarts. My favorite shelling bean is cannellini, but we also grew Tongue of Fire and Kenearly Yellow Eye beans.

If you're considering growing beans, add several rows to your garden and preserve the excess. Drying beans is easy and you'll be able to enjoy your garden goodies all year long in a variety of dishes.

Since much of the drying is done in the pod while it's on the plant, you'll want to plant beans in wide rows with enough spacing between plants to provide pods with plenty sun and air circulation.  If plants are too close, thin the stand. Pods are ready to harvest when leaves turn brown and wilt. The pods will be brittle and crumble easily.

Strip the beans out of the pod, discarding damaged beans. Place shelled beans in a brown paper bag or other container that allows for air to circulate around the beans. Beans are dry enough to store when they are hard, similar to commercially dried beans. Once the beans are completely dry, place in an airtight container with a tight fitting lid, like a mason jar, and store in the pantry.

A note about harvesting at the right time: Drying beans can sprout in the pod if they're exposed to rain. If your pods have started to dry and it looks like rain, pick the pods, shell and lay out beans to dry. It will take a bit more time, but you'll save the harvest.

Top to bottom: Cannellini, Kenearly Yellow Eye and Tongue of Fire.
All of the pictured beans were picked early for fresh eating. Later in the season,
we harvested and dried the cannellini and Kenearly beans.

The Kenearly beans dry beautifully. These will hold in the pantry for
at least a year. We usually eat them long before that!

We add our beans to soups and casseroles, but our favorite way to eat them is in
savory homemade baked beans. So much better than the commercial stuff!