oh, beans!

Yesterday I picked the first of the beans.

Yay!!!

These are the heirloom pole beans from Sow True Seed, kindly sent to me by Tipper at Blind Pig and the Acorn as part of a planting project. I wrote about it here.

Since this was an experiment, I did 3 small plantings, in 2 locations, working around a stretch of very wet weather. First, on 31 May, I planted a short row of ten beans by goat barn. These seeds were presoaked to give them a headstart on germinating.

In only four days, the cotyledons began to appear. It was tremendously exciting! Really, does this sight ever get old?

The fragments of clean, dried eggshells are intended to deter nibbling animals like mice from marching through the garden in search of the salad bar. Apparently something took a nibble out of the one below anyway, but the plant rose above it!

All ten beans germinated, gradually, over a ten-day period. Every morning I went out and counted the beans.

Ha! I became a bean-counter.
Where's my calculator?
Where's my pocket protector? 

This picture was taken 30 June. The baling-twine trellis was an experiment. You may have noticed, most things here are experiments.

A second row of 10 presoaked beans went in along a 6' fence in a new (sunny!) garden spot.

That sun-blocking greenery on the other side of the fence became part of the goats' menu. The goats are excellent gardening helpers, as long as they are on the proper side of the fence.*

After 9 days, these bean plants began popping up piecemeal over several days, and on the 14th of June, I planted the remaining 20+ seeds along the same fence. These last seeds were not soaked first. To my astonishment, eight days later, they all came up simultaneously. One morning there was a perfect row of beans greeting the sun, where the day before there had been only a line pressed into the ground.

Note to self: skip the presoaking next year!

Another surprise was the luxuriant growth of the planting by the goat barn (you can see the roof in the background), in an area with patchy light:

...compared to the sparse growth of the planting along the fence, in an area chosen because it gets so much sun:

So I have learned a couple of things about how and where to plant my pole beans next year.

Meanwhile, into the kitchen with the first beans!

I wouldn't call them "stringless" exactly...

but I've never minded stringing beans, so maybe I'm not quite as lazy as the "lazy wife" these beans were named for!

But...had they grown too big? Would they be tough?

Steamed them whole...

to accompany a little leftover roast chicken.

Delicious beans!
Meaty, yet tender.
Lovely flavor.

In fact, it's a good thing I took a picture before I started eating - see the steam on the fork? - because otherwise it would have been too late and this would have been a picture of...just chicken.

Fingers crossed for a long, late harvest period. It would be very nice to put up a few packets of these tasty beans for midwinter treats, but it seems more likely every bean will be eaten up long before it can see the inside of a freezer or jar.

I'm already planning where to plant more next year.

Thanks, Tipper! And thanks, Sow True Seeds!
~~~

*The day I spent a couple of hours planting onion sets, one of the goats slipped into the garden as I was going out the gate. The goat was in and out of the garden in roughly 12 seconds, but she left a row of deep sharp hoofprints straight down the new row of onions. Little monkey.

~~~~~

wordless wednesday

~~~~~

speechless sunday

~~~~~

pattypan psa

In recent years, most of the farm stands and farmers' markets in this area seem to be selling pattypans at a very small size. Sometimes just 2 or 3 inches across.

They are undeniably adorable at that size, but since those miniature vegetables are often sold at so-many-per-dollar instead of so-much-per-pound, they can also be quite expensive.

I've experimented this year with my own squash, and am here with a Pattypan Public Service Announcement:

Large pattypans are delicious.

And simple to prepare. Just cut the squash in half, and scoop out the central seed portion. This is a tablespoon, which gives you an idea of the squash size. It's over a pound in weight.

Two quick turns of a spoon, and the center section comes out in one clean piece. Easy peasy!

The hens enjoy the seedy centers, so nothing is wasted.

I usually just cut up and steam the squash until tender but not mushy, then enjoy it plain, or with a little butter, or mixed with other veggies. I've never bothered with sauces because the squash is so mildly flavored I didn't want to overwhelm it. But live and learn: this week there was just a bit of leftover broccoli cheddar soup in the fridge...reheated and poured over chunks of steamed pattypan squash, it made a lovely lunch.

This is the first year I have grown pattypans, and they have added much to the gardens. Earlier this week a friend stopped by and it was a pleasure to walk out into the garden and pick two pattypans for her to take home. Really, does anything feel more sweet than having enough of something special to share with friends?

~~~~~

small task, big reward

Yesterday, I did everything that was on my list.

I am clearly getting better at writing lists.

Lately I have also been able to cross off a few things from the bigger task list; the list of things that linger and loom but because they are not tied to a season or weather, can be postponed.

Sometimes they can be postponed for years.

Here's an example: replacing the door seal on the dishwasher.

Done!

Don't I sound...effective?

Less so when I tell you I postponed this little job for so long I honestly can't give you an accurate estimate of when the door seal started coming partway off every time I opened the dishwasher door to unload clean dishes.

The dishwasher is used about twice weekly, so poking a little saggy swag of rubber back into its track is not a big deal compared to the prospect of an expensive Service Call.

Gradually the swag got swaggier, though, until eventually I had to poke the entire strip back into place along both sides and the top of the door. Every time. But being of a frugal mindset, I reminded myself that spending one minute poking a rubber door seal into its track after every load of dishes is still WAY better than washing those dishes by hand.

Opinions will differ on this, I know.

My feelings about washing dishes hark back to growing up in a family of 7; a family in which 2 people washed all the dishes.

As an adult, a dishwasher was just about the only appliance I wanted, and I wanted one for years and years and years. About 7 years ago I finally decided I could afford one. I'm not much of a shopper or "consumer," but when I visited the local appliance store (there really is a genuine local appliance store in the next town) to choose a dishwasher, well, what a glorious day that was! The manager gave me a lot of advice, and at one point referred to certain things I would "still want to wash by hand" because of their size or some other factor. I let him finish, then told him, "From this moment on, nothing that I can fit in this dishwasher will ever be washed by hand again. Lobster pot? Turkey platter? Pickle crocks? Dishwasher!!!"

Ah, memories.

Where was I? Oh yes, the door seal. I finally tried to put a value on what it would be worth to me, to not have to keep poking that piece of rubber back into place. The answer I came up with: fifty dollars. If a new door seal would cost more than $50., I would keep poking until the rubber itself was completely shot and could be poked no more.

I called the appliance store and asked how much the part would be.

The same manager looked it up. It was $48.50.

"Are you going to install it yourself?" he asked, because he knows me.

"Why, yes," I said. And I did. There were q-tips involved, and a big flashlight. Also rubbing alcohol and a razor blade and a tube of silicon.

And then the dishwasher was closed. In an excess of caution I waited three days to cure the silicon completely before doing a trial load of dishes.

No leakage!

And the door seal stayed firmly in place!

The End.

~~~

Wasn't that a lovely story?

But here's the reason I appreciate my dishwasher so much. It can do magic.

These pie plates were recently excavated from a cupboard at my parents' house. The last time I saw them was about a hundred years ago, back when I was one of the two dishwashers. They hadn't been used in the last decade or two, but I was still a bit disturbed to see their condition.

So as soon as the newly-installed door seal had cured, these four pie plates went into the bottom rack. I gave them lots of room; in fact, it reminded me of the appliance store manager telling me about washing some things by hand because they would take up so much room in the dishwasher. Ha! Take all the room you need, Pie Plates. You have been waiting a long time to be reclaimed and rejuvenated.

Your wait is over.

I love my dishwasher. I really, really do.

~~~~~