Friday, August 19, 2011

A Bean Question

I have a question. A bean question. Or, rather, a question about beans. I got home today after a lengthy (for me) absence from home. Can you guess what I did as soon as I got home? I ran (well, more like sauntered) out to my garden to look things over. Among other things, my green beans are producing. And I guess they've been producing for what looks like almost the entire time (3 weeks) I've been gone. There are beans of all maturity, but lots of older ones. Could I use just plain old green beans as dried beans? Could I pick the older ones, dry them, and cook them up later instead of throwing them into the compost heap? Would it be worth the work, or would I be better off to use them as compost, and try a true dried bean variety next season? I've never grown dried beans before, and now am at a total loss as to what to do with this multitude of old beans.

Thank you for any and all help you can give me. Oh, and I know that was more than one question, but I was sort of on a roll. Besides, it's been a long day, and maybe, I might kind of be suffering from the effects of 2 bowls of mint chocolate chip ice cream. I sort of didn't stop after the first one. True story.

Signed,
Just One Simple Human Bean

7 comments:

  1. I think it should be possible to pick and dry them... but then I'm not a bean expert.... A pity if you have to throw them...

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  2. Sure...use them as dried beans and save some to plant next year. Beans are great little buggers!

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  3. I planted a variety of pole beans this year that was a huge flub. Stringy and hard. I am going to let them dry. I figured since we really don't like them anyway, what's the harm in trying? No seed saving on these tho. Ick. I vote that you give it a try!

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  4. Another thing you can do is use the bigger ones as "shelly beans". Just remove the beans from the pods and cook them that way (in a pot of water, drain, season with s & p and add a bit of butter) or, my favorite way, cook them right along with the younger green beans. They taste a bit like the dried cooked beans, but cook quite fast....no soaking! You can add bacon, onion, whatever you like.

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  5. Can you shell them and blanch them and vac pack them for soups and stews in the fall and winter?

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  6. @Becca, what a great idea! Now I'll have to let my beans get old and overgrown so I can freeze the shelly beans for soups!

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  7. Oh, what great ideas! I will not be tossing them in the compost any longer. Looks like today will be another bean picking day! I'll pick a bunch, and then see about having some for dinner tonight! Oh, and we have bacon in the frig! Sweet! Thank you for all your great ideas.
    ~~Lori

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