Yesterday I went to the privately owned green house that I like and bought
the
rest of my tomato and pepper plants for this season. While there, I asked
about
winter squashes and got a 3.5" pot of Waltham butternut. I hadn't planned on
it
but couldn't resist.

Today I dug up the rest of my vegetable garden, put in my soil improvers
(around
here that's lots of peat, some top soil and a little composted manure), got
the
peppers and tomatoes in the ground and gave some thought as to the best space
for the squash. The zucchini is now in a half whisky barrel in the front.
It
is new, has never had anything in it so I'm following the rule about crop
rotation helping to foil the bugs. (I also used the foil-- can't hurt, might
help.) I have a smallish vegetable patch to begin which is happily being
taken
over by raspberries and strawberries leaving even less room. It is hard to
rotate under these conditions since there isn't a lot of space to rotate
into.

I put a mound in for the butternut. Right now it looks quite funny since it
has
4 feet on all sides to grow into but has only this tiny seedling on top. I
think I may poke some beans around it just so I'll have something that grows
fast. I want the instant gratification that beans provide. I figure they'll
have grown, flowered and produced green beans before the squash has gotten
too
big and leafy. Then I can just pull them up in time for the squash to sprawl
out.

In the past, I've never paid any attention to what sort of beans I was
planting. I looked in my kitchen cupboard and planted black beans or red
chili
beans or whatever I happen to have there. They've always grown. (Whether
they've vined or bushed has always been a surprise.) They've always produced
some green beans. And the price for seeds has always been the most
reasonable
around. Is there any reason why I shouldn't continue this practice? Do the
beans sold as seeds produce more or better green beans?

--Lia
Cultivars, specifically designed for snap beans have a meatier pod, while those
used for dried beans typically have a thin pod which quickly gets tough and
stringy. That squash ill probably surprise you. They are usually a shorter
season than for instance the balck turtle bean you mentioned. Expect the squash
to ripe before the turtle beans are ready to be picked as shell beans.