5 Beans Planted Today

[karstopography]

This Bambusa sp. is good for a season or two at best. I would leave on a few more side branches next time around to facilitate the beans vines finding more options for alternative paths up, up and away.

The bamboo comes, grows in bare, no branches green and alive, or dead and brown, sparse branching, dead or alive, few leaves on up to bushy monsters. Most of it is 25’ or so. One bamboo generally makes two stakes or one bean pole and a tomato stake.

Ideal for bean poles is long side branches radiating in 360°. I inverted one or two when I impaled them in the ground and that was a good idea.

The operation harvesting the bamboo poles and deploying them takes 30-45 minutes, if even. Good and fun Machete work. I love swinging that long blade. Once, I did cut off the tip of my thumb with a machete cutting off the leg of a goose, but the ER doctor sewed the appendage back on. Dad put the tip of the thumb in a iced down glass of scotch, must have been the right move.

I throw the leftover, end of season bamboo poles in the burn pile and they explode like fire works.

[karstopography]

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Getting lots of blooms and some little beans. Looking good.

[karstopography]

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Going to pick some pole beans in the next day or two. Most of them sprouted around February 23rd. So not quite 60 days seems about on schedule.

[Tormahto]

They're looking good.

I think it takes about twelve days from the flower petals falling off and seeing the tiny pod, until they are ready to pick.
I see trusses of 2s and 3s. Do you get any larger trusses? Jeminez is the most prolific bean that I grow. A 7 flower truss usually has 5 or 6 pods, and sometimes all 7 set.

I'm still more than a month from planting.

[karstopography]

@Tormato I’m not sure about the trusses, I’ll have to check. The bean patch is in a pretty shaded spot so like most of the garden not exactly ideal on the amount of direct sun.

[karstopography]

The people that had the house built in 1951 and lived in it until around 2014 were absolute tree lovers. They planted dozens of trees, mostly non-native trees and allowed dozens more to grow from wild seedlings. The net result has been a surplus of trees and deficit of ground with direct sunlight.

Since we’ve been in the house since 2017, there’s been two hurricanes and a few other serious wind events that have chipped away at the tree surplus. Large mature Tree removal is expensive (around here anyway) and/or back breaking and/or perilous work. Many big trees have been removed, by myself and by commercial tree removal people, and the first priority on the removal are trees that have threatened the structure and vehicles. Inexplicably, the previous owners of the house planted small trees that certainly go on to become mature large trees or allowed many large trees to grow within mere feet from the structure, threatening the house with every serious blow.

I have no less than six trees I’d like to remove to help my garden receive better light. Three green ash trees, a red oak, and two water oaks. The red oak and maybe a couple of the ash trees I can likely handle myself with my saws. The water oaks are really too big for me to take on safely without a tree service and a crew.

Until I can get the necessary tree work accomplished, I aim to garden the best I can with the available light.

If I can get several nice meals out of a 4’x8’ pole bean patch and 3’x 6’ bush bean patch and have some to share with the neighbor, I’ll consider it a win.

[karstopography]

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Did my Bean Yoga again this morning. First morning getting any french filet types. About a pound and half of beany goodness.

[GoDawgs]

Jeminez is the most prolific bean that I grow. A 7 flower truss usually has 5 or 6 pods, and sometimes all 7 set.

@Tormato, thanks for that information! I planted beans today. including the MMMM Jiminez, Smeraldo and and Super Marconi pole beans. I'll have to watch for the trusses when the time comes.