Shelling Beans: Harvest and Storage

In August, I posted about our awesome bean trellis using the existing greenhouse frame for the beans to climb.  Well, the beans are finally harvested and put away for the winter.  The results: 18 lb 4.1 oz

All together we grew six different varieties of beans.  Three required a trellis and three didn't.

Once the bean pods are dry, the beans are removed.

The beans are then put on drying racks for about a week to remove any remaining moisture before permanent storage.  

The picture above was taken last year when I discovered mold on the beans because they weren't completely dry when stored in the jars.  I did manage to "save" them by washing them in warm water in a colander and then drying them in the oven on a low setting. 

Even with the wet weather rotting the beans touching the ground and the Mexican Bean Beetles, we still harvested more beans than we will need this winter.  For each type of bean that we grew, we planted an entire package (about 50 seeds per package) that we purchased from SSE with an exception of the Tiger's Eye.  We planted about 30 seeds of the Tiger's Eye that we saved from the previous year.  

Tiger's Eye (bush): 2 lb 5.4 oz

Lina Sisco's Bird Egg (bush): 3 lb 12.9 oz

Calypso (bush): 3 lb 3.4 oz

Cherokee Trail of Tears (pole): 3 lb 5.7 oz

Good Mother Stallard (pole): 3 lb 3.3 oz

Brockton Horticultural (pole): 2 lb 5.4 oz

We use a pressure cooker for cooking our beans.  Here are the cooking times for the varieties we grew. Cooking times (not soaked) vary depending on the size of the bean. 

Trail of Tears: 15 min

Good Mother Stallard: 30 min

Brockton Horticultural: 35 min

Tiger's Eye: 35 min
Lina Sisco's Bird Egg: 25 min
Calypso: 30 min

Teaching Others About Homemade Cleaning Products

This week I was invited to a local MOPS group to speak about homemade cleaning products.  I was surprised to find so many women eager to learn alternative ways to clean their homes.  We covered everything from floors, bathrooms, laundry to everything in between. 

 In the picture above I am holding a bottle of essential oils talking about the artificial perfumes that are put into products that make us think something is clean.  

The items I brought with me to the class include: vinegar, borax, super washing soda, baking soda, a spray bottle with a vinegar water mix, Fels-Naptha soap, a reusable mop pad, microfiber cloth, rags (instead of paper towels and disposable wipes), essential oils, and gloves.  Before the girls left, they filled their own spray bottle with a vinegar and water mixture (1/2 cup vinegar to 5 cups water) and took home a microfiber cloth.  This is the handout the girls received with recipes to make at home.

Hot Summer Days

There are only a few hot and humid days left this year.   I am enjoying the final ones reading a good book and drinking homemade ginger ale on the porch.  

During the really hot days, the chickens keep to the shade of the woods and only wander in the yard occasionally with their wings slightly flared to catch a breeze.  We think they look pretty funny with their wings out like this! 

The honeybees form beards outside their hives at night to bring in the cool air. 

And Jon and Paul make homemade ice cream.  Just when we are about to complain about the humidity, we remember the frigid January days when the pipes froze last year and we were huddled under blankets.  We are grateful for all of the time outside and soak up the heat when we have it!

Composting at Work

A gardener can never have too much compost.  It seems every gardening book proclaims that just about every plant needs compost.  This nutrient-dense stuff not only feeds the plants but is a mulch for water retention and weed control.  Jon and I throw every possible scrap into our compost but the pile never seems to get large enough for all of our needs.  One way to help bulk up the compost pile is to collect scraps from those who don't compost.  One area that is often overlooked is our workplace.  Jon collects coffee grounds at work and sprinkles the grounds around the blueberry bushes.  I would consider coffee grounds a pretty easy item to collect, unlike banana peels and fruit pits and cores because there isn't the issue of fruit flies.  The fruit flies wouldn't be a problem if the compost wasn't left for a few days but Jon isn't always there to collect it.   The coffee grounds have been collected for about 6 months now and perhaps in the future we could find a way around the fruit flies and collect the other items.  A perk to composting at work is that coworkers start asking questions about gardening, where their food comes from, and the importance of eating local.  You never know what changes you will make by starting a compost system at work!.

Our blueberry plants really like the coffee grounds!

Meals from the Garden

My family absolutely loves Thai food and the summer is the best time to make it with all the fresh veggies.  Here's what we add to our thai dishes from the garden: edamame, peppers, cabbage, chard, zucchini, carrots, garlic, onion, eggs, peapods, basil, tomatillos, okra, broccoli and mushrooms.

Pasta dishes are an old stand-by whether they are pesto or spaghetti, most everything comes from the garden.  Even the egg noodles are homemade using eggs from the chickens.  And of course, the side vegetable always comes from the garden.  I'm still trying to perfect the best homemade spaghetti sauce and every time it's a little bit different.  This recipe includes homemade meatballs using ground venison.  The sauce includes tomato paste, stewed tomatoes, hungarian wax peppers, oregano, mushrooms, onions, garlic, tomatillos, and okra.

A good ol' fashioned stew is the perfect meal to have on a cool evening while sitting around the fire.  Venison, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, and oregano.

Kohlrabi with mashed potatoes and corn.  

Eggplant Parmesan and corn.

And for a delicious dessert, Ground Cherry Crisp.  This is the first year growing ground cherries and we absolutely love them!  When made into a dessert they taste almost like peaches. 

Tomato Blight and Using Green Tomatoes

This summer got away from us and the tomatoes received the brunt of it.  You can see from the above picture how quickly late blight takes over.  The only green in the picture on the right side are the prolific weeds.  It's a heart-wrenching feeling to rip the plants out of the ground while the fruits are still green. 

Every year Jon and I learn a little bit more about gardening and create our own tips and best practices.  This year Jon discovered the best bean trellis, and this year we are one step closer to understanding how to grow tomatoes.  Using wire fencing was far better than the flimsy tomato cages and log and twine trellises that rot and fall over.  This year the rows were spaced "properly" according to seed packet instructions, but they were still too close together making weeding downright impossible which explains the excessive overgrowth of weeds and airflow is crucial to minimize disease spreading.  Next year: eliminate the congestion and plant the tomatoes in one long row instead of a patch. Do you have any recommendations to keep blight away? We think it's taking over our potatoes now too.

Some of the tomatoes will ripen off the vine so we put them on the porch where they will receive some sun (if the cloudy rainy weather will pass!).  In the picture there is a seed-saving experience gone bad.  We saved seeds from a pie pumpkin that must have crossed with a zucchini.

Cherry tomatoes typically don't turn red after removal from the vine.  Instead of throwing them into the compost, I made Green Tomato Hot Dog Relish.  It's super easy to make.  You begin by washing the tomatoes and throwing them in a food processor without removing the skins. 

In food processor, puree green tomatoes until you have 1 quart.  Puree 1 large onion and 1 large red pepper.  Combine tomatoes, onion, and pepper in a large bowl with 2 T canning salt.  Let sit for 1 hr.

Drain and rinse.

In a large soup pot combine pureed mixture, 1 cup sugar, 1 T mustard seeds, 1 tsp. celery seed, 4 whole cloves, and 1 cup vinegar.  Bring to a boil and simmer 20 min.

Remove cloves before filling jars.  Process half-pints 10 minutes in water bath.  

Makes ~6 half-pints.

Homemade Soap Gone Bad

So...I'm cleaning out cupboards and came across a box of soap that looks like this.  The soap should be a pale, creamy color.  This castile soap was made several years ago and it went bad.  It's a shame to throw it away but it's considered caustic at this point and not safe to use.  It may have not traced properly or the bars didn't receive enough air during storage.  Whatever the reason, I have to toss it.