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Old 23-01-2004, 02:11 AM
Chris
 
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Default Dried Beans - ultra labor intensive?

It seems to me that dried beans (kidney, cow, turtle and the like) are
super labor intensive. I mean, waiting for the pod to dry, the
picking the shells and finally reaping the beans. It seems like it
would take an hour for a simple pound of beans.

Is there a simpler way - other than spending the $1.15/lb it costs at
the health food store for organic beans?

And couldn't the space be used for something more productive, anyway?
Does anyone have insight/thoughts on this?

Thanks,
Chris
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Old 23-01-2004, 01:02 PM
Pat Kiewicz
 
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Default Dried Beans - ultra labor intensive?

Chris said:

It seems to me that dried beans (kidney, cow, turtle and the like) are
super labor intensive. I mean, waiting for the pod to dry, the
picking the shells and finally reaping the beans. It seems like it
would take an hour for a simple pound of beans.


Shelling dry beans isn't hard. Once the pods are fully dry they tend to
open easily and the beans fall right out. (Let them finish drying indoors --
once the heating season start and indoor humidity drops, they are very
easy to shell out.)

*Fresh* shell beans (a culinary delight) are a lot more work. But you get
something that is virtually unobtainable in most markets. These are picked
when the bean is nearly mature but the pods are still green or just barely
turning yellow. They cook quickly and the texture can be wonderfully creamy...

The problem with growing dry beans is not the work, but the amount of space
you need to grow more than a sample. You need a substantial planting to get
more than a pound or two.

And couldn't the space be used for something more productive, anyway?
Does anyone have insight/thoughts on this?


Depends on what you like, and what is available to you locally to buy vs, what
actually grows well in your garden. For instance, I gave up growing carrots
once I was able to buy good quality organic carrots year round. (Too much
struggle for me against nematodes and voles.) I grow sweet corn, even though
it's a space hog, because I like my sweetcorn tender and 'corny' (which the ever
more popular super-sweet varieties aren't).
--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)

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Old 23-01-2004, 01:12 PM
Frogleg
 
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Default Dried Beans - ultra labor intensive?

On 22 Jan 2004 16:36:31 -0800, (Chris) wrote:

It seems to me that dried beans (kidney, cow, turtle and the like) are
super labor intensive. I mean, waiting for the pod to dry, the
picking the shells and finally reaping the beans. It seems like it
would take an hour for a simple pound of beans.

Is there a simpler way - other than spending the $1.15/lb it costs at
the health food store for organic beans?

And couldn't the space be used for something more productive, anyway?
Does anyone have insight/thoughts on this?


I grew some beans for dried beans (pintos? turtle beans?) once a long
time ago in a very small way. When I got 'em all cleaned and ready for
storage, I noticed there were zillions of teeny holes in the beans --
some kind of worm? Total loss.

I also grew onions one year (from sets) that took a lot of weeding and
water, and also returned little. I'm about to head out to a local
grocery store that has 5lb of onions for $2.50.

I really prefer to grow things that are either unusual or rarely
available in stores (purple okra and Oriental veg), hideously
expensive (multi-colored peppers, many herbs), or clearly superior to
boughten stuff (tomatoes!).

Given the return on one bean seed, dried beans might be worthwhile (it
doesn't take a *lot* of labor to shake them out of the shells),
particularly if you insist on organic and can keep the bean weevils(?)
away. Or if you want to have more exotic varieties than are available
commercially.
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Old 23-01-2004, 02:02 PM
Janice
 
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Default Dried Beans - ultra labor intensive?

On Fri, 23 Jan 2004 12:11:56 GMT, Frogleg wrote:

On 22 Jan 2004 16:36:31 -0800, (Chris) wrote:

It seems to me that dried beans (kidney, cow, turtle and the like) are
super labor intensive. I mean, waiting for the pod to dry, the
picking the shells and finally reaping the beans. It seems like it
would take an hour for a simple pound of beans.

Is there a simpler way - other than spending the $1.15/lb it costs at
the health food store for organic beans?

And couldn't the space be used for something more productive, anyway?
Does anyone have insight/thoughts on this?


Grow pole beans to get more production in a small space, making sure
to orient them so they won't shade the rest of the garden, or so they
will shade something in late afternoon that needs some extra
protection.. It takes acres and acres of beans that take up an entire
growing season to produce those beans you buy, and if they're
organically grown, the yields are probably not as great. So, unless
you have a fair amount of space to dedicate to them, you will have to
just appreciate what you can get I guess. You can get a whole lot
more green beans with some of those WONDERFUL Shellie beans you can
mix in with them from the beans you've missed or let go a little
longer. You can get double duty from them anyway, in that you can
pick some green beans for awhile, and then let the rest mature and
harvest those at whatever stages you enjoy most, the shellies, or
flageolet sp beans meant to be picked and eaten in the "green
shellie" stage, or let them go to the fully mature and dry stage..
they're "done" when the pods are brittle. Many of the shell beans
can be had in pole form, cranberry, wren's egg, are the only 2 I can
recall from 10 or so years back that I planted and were pole.
Vermont Bean Seed catalog was where I got those, but I don't know if
they're still in operation. I looked and they are, and are
associated with Jung seed company. Unfortunately their reviews on
Garden watchdog was bad for last year, so they may had a problem last
year.


I grew some beans for dried beans (pintos? turtle beans?) once a long
time ago in a very small way. When I got 'em all cleaned and ready for
storage, I noticed there were zillions of teeny holes in the beans --
some kind of worm? Total loss.


That really sucks when stuff like that happens, but that's why I don't
grow peas, other than snow peas because they are picked before the
seed starts forming and the weevils haven't gotten to them. Once the
peas form you can go out and inspect the pods and you'll see holes
shot through them where the adult has drilled through to lay eggs.

I also grew onions one year (from sets) that took a lot of weeding and
water, and also returned little. I'm about to head out to a local
grocery store that has 5lb of onions for $2.50.


I likewise don't try to grow onions very often because unless I go out
and cover the row early and keep it covered all season with floating
row cover, there will be some small flies that lay eggs and there will
be maggots in the roots of the onions, .. likewise turnips, and
radishes. Growing turnips in spring would definitely need row
covers, I guess fall grown ones aren't bothered as much..

I grew some pretty nice onions one year, and the key was getting them
in early, using sets no larger than a dime or from transplants from
seed I started earlier... only to find those maggots in many of them!

I really prefer to grow things that are either unusual or rarely
available in stores (purple okra and Oriental veg), hideously
expensive (multi-colored peppers, many herbs), or clearly superior to
boughten stuff (tomatoes!).

Given the return on one bean seed, dried beans might be worthwhile (it
doesn't take a *lot* of labor to shake them out of the shells),
particularly if you insist on organic and can keep the bean weevils(?)
away. Or if you want to have more exotic varieties than are available
commercially.


I agree, grow what you can grow without too many problems. If you
can't grow it without pesticides, then don't try to grow it if you
can't find an acceptable solution.

I can grow carrots without any problems, or did 10 years ago. Could
be the problem pests could have been imported into the area since
then, but I can't grow the onions turnips and radishes, so I put some
egyptian onions out there, and I am thinking of potato onions as a
possible solution for early and then I may try another method of
planting late seed, so it will grow to set size and then over winter
them and see if they are as prone to pests. shrug worst that could
happen is they won't make it or I'll have to cover them with remay.

Good luck to y'all!!

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Old 23-01-2004, 09:02 PM
Lorenzo L. Love
 
Posts: n/a
Default Dried Beans - ultra labor intensive?

Janice wrote:

On Fri, 23 Jan 2004 12:11:56 GMT, Frogleg wrote:


On 22 Jan 2004 16:36:31 -0800, (Chris) wrote:


It seems to me that dried beans (kidney, cow, turtle and the like) are
super labor intensive. I mean, waiting for the pod to dry, the
picking the shells and finally reaping the beans. It seems like it
would take an hour for a simple pound of beans.

Is there a simpler way - other than spending the $1.15/lb it costs at
the health food store for organic beans?

And couldn't the space be used for something more productive, anyway?
Does anyone have insight/thoughts on this?



Grow pole beans to get more production in a small space, making sure
to orient them so they won't shade the rest of the garden, or so they
will shade something in late afternoon that needs some extra
protection.. It takes acres and acres of beans that take up an entire
growing season to produce those beans you buy, and if they're
organically grown, the yields are probably not as great. So, unless
you have a fair amount of space to dedicate to them, you will have to
just appreciate what you can get I guess. You can get a whole lot
more green beans with some of those WONDERFUL Shellie beans you can
mix in with them from the beans you've missed or let go a little
longer. You can get double duty from them anyway, in that you can
pick some green beans for awhile, and then let the rest mature and
harvest those at whatever stages you enjoy most, the shellies, or
flageolet sp beans meant to be picked and eaten in the "green
shellie" stage, or let them go to the fully mature and dry stage..
they're "done" when the pods are brittle. Many of the shell beans
can be had in pole form, cranberry, wren's egg, are the only 2 I can
recall from 10 or so years back that I planted and were pole.
Vermont Bean Seed catalog was where I got those, but I don't know if
they're still in operation. I looked and they are, and are
associated with Jung seed company. Unfortunately their reviews on
Garden watchdog was bad for last year, so they may had a problem last
year.


I grew some beans for dried beans (pintos? turtle beans?) once a long
time ago in a very small way. When I got 'em all cleaned and ready for
storage, I noticed there were zillions of teeny holes in the beans --
some kind of worm? Total loss.



That really sucks when stuff like that happens, but that's why I don't
grow peas, other than snow peas because they are picked before the
seed starts forming and the weevils haven't gotten to them. Once the
peas form you can go out and inspect the pods and you'll see holes
shot through them where the adult has drilled through to lay eggs.


I also grew onions one year (from sets) that took a lot of weeding and
water, and also returned little. I'm about to head out to a local
grocery store that has 5lb of onions for $2.50.



I likewise don't try to grow onions very often because unless I go out
and cover the row early and keep it covered all season with floating
row cover, there will be some small flies that lay eggs and there will
be maggots in the roots of the onions, .. likewise turnips, and
radishes. Growing turnips in spring would definitely need row
covers, I guess fall grown ones aren't bothered as much..

I grew some pretty nice onions one year, and the key was getting them
in early, using sets no larger than a dime or from transplants from
seed I started earlier... only to find those maggots in many of them!

I really prefer to grow things that are either unusual or rarely
available in stores (purple okra and Oriental veg), hideously
expensive (multi-colored peppers, many herbs), or clearly superior to
boughten stuff (tomatoes!).

Given the return on one bean seed, dried beans might be worthwhile (it
doesn't take a *lot* of labor to shake them out of the shells),
particularly if you insist on organic and can keep the bean weevils(?)
away. Or if you want to have more exotic varieties than are available
commercially.



I agree, grow what you can grow without too many problems. If you
can't grow it without pesticides, then don't try to grow it if you
can't find an acceptable solution.

I can grow carrots without any problems, or did 10 years ago. Could
be the problem pests could have been imported into the area since
then, but I can't grow the onions turnips and radishes, so I put some
egyptian onions out there, and I am thinking of potato onions as a
possible solution for early and then I may try another method of
planting late seed, so it will grow to set size and then over winter
them and see if they are as prone to pests. shrug worst that could
happen is they won't make it or I'll have to cover them with remay.

Good luck to y'all!!


Some things are just too much trouble for me to bother with. Beans are
like that for me, never even got to the stage where weevils would eat
them. Something else ate the plants long before that.

As for onions, I grow potato onions, AKA yellow multiplier onions. As
they are heavily mulched when planted, no weeding is needed and they are
completely pest free. Multiplier onions are small, no hamburger slicers,
and they make me tear up worst then any other onions when I peel them,
but they taste good and they are great keepers, often lasting a full
year in storage. I got mine from Territorial Seed.

Lorenzo L. Love
http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”
Cicero

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