What's the best green bean you've grown?
anney
15 years ago
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Comments (55)
P POD
15 years agosudzy
15 years agoRelated Discussions
The best okra variety you've grown?
Comments (47)The only thing I grow in a high tunnel are my early girl tomatoes. I plant them a month early, and get my first harvest in June rather than July. The photo of the single okra plant inside the hoop house was one taken as a freak storm was approaching. I threw that hoop house together with scraps of sheet metal, black plastic, old vis-queen, and what ever I could find, in an attempt to save this plant's germplasm from the freezing temperatures that were approaching. Unfortunately, high winds that night prevailed, and I lost the battle. Only 5 pods were saved to full maturity. These were distributed among friends at the Department of Agriculture, and a few OSU professors I knew. The dusty ground in that photo will attest to the drought conditions in which that plant prospered. I was only able to water it sparingly, as our well was close to going dry. The photo was taken in October of 2011 after a Summer of record heat. August 2, 2011 reached 115 degrees....See MoreBest flavor green bean for CANNING ?
Comments (2)As many others have also posted in other threads, Blue Lake pole beans have been my 'standard' canning bean. Last year I also tried Roma II's - with 'mixed reviews'. Those that I harvested small and early were much better than others that I waited to reach full size. I've also had reasonably good luck with Derby bush beans....See MoreBest (and worst) green/wax beans for freezing
Comments (13)Macky, your technique is quite similar to mine. I have two matching stainless steel kettles with large strainer basket inserts... this works well for large-scale freezing, since one basket can be cooling while the other is blanching. But rather than fill a sink with cold water, I place a kettle in the sink large enough to immerse the basket, and keep the tap running slowly into it. My well water is cold enough to make your teeth hurt! The cold water sinks to the bottom, and the warmer water is constantly flowing over the top. I stir constantly when the basket is first immersed, for about a minute, then let the veggies sit under the running water. Meanwhile, I strain out any fragments that might remain in the blanching kettle (the wide hand strainers sold in Asian stores work great for this), place the second basket in, and once the water resumes boiling, put in another batch to blanch. I remove & drain the batch that is cooling about a minute before the blanching is complete; by that time the water in the cooling kettle is cold. The other sink holds a colander for draining; but it's not that important to get the veggies completely dry. I initially freeze veggies in square plastic freezer boxes, then vacuum seal the frozen "blocks" into bags (this lessens the chance of debris interfering with the seal). A little water helps the veggies hold together during the transfer. I freeze greens (such as chard) covered in water; this reduces freezer burn. If you don't use a vacuum sealer, covering with water is a good alternative for extended storage. Place the veggies in a ziplock freezer bag, cover with water, squeeze out air bubbles, and seal. Be sure to leave enough room for the bag to expand as it freezes. In my experience, you don't want to use a cheap freezer bag for this, the seam might pop open or leak as it freezes. For me, vacuum-sealed green beans will last for over a year with good quality, if kept at 0 degrees F. A refrigerator ice box generally doesn't get that cold, so storage life would be reduced in the warmer conditions. A small chest freezer is a worthwhile investment if you want to freeze enough veggies for the year. Oh, one last note about blanching. For the best quality, it is best to work small batches. For me, one pound seems to be the magic number... the blanching times tend to match those listed in the Ball Blue Book, which is my reference of choice for canning & freezing. When freezing a new variety for the first time, it's a good idea to do a test batch & check for proper blanching, before freezing large quantities. One tip I've noticed is that when properly blanched, the beans (and most other cut veggies) will sink as they cool....See MoreBest Heirloom Tomatoes You've Grown....For Fresh Consumption
Comments (31)Update on my Black Krim and Cherokee Purple that I planted based on your recommendations! These seeds were planted on June 2 and they went in the ground about two weeks ago. BK on the right, CP on the left. Nice blossoms growing in on both although as of yesterday I had not seen any baby tomatoes peeking out from the flowers yet. Two extra Black Krims that came up were potted up unto 10 gallons. Doing nicely...though I attempted an experiment on them by using azomite and mycorrhizae in one pot (the right one). It's a tad behind if anything though both have about the same number of blooms forming. I have one CP left (the third seed never did come up) that's in a 1 gallon and suffering. It was the smallest so I let it be for awhile but now it's budding and having a hard time. I hope to get it into the ground later today but am messing with my planting bed and waging war or roots about as thick as my thigh. My guy bought a chainsaw LOL, so hopefully it comes out today and the CP can go in....See Morehappyday
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