Mesquite bean/pod cleanup - tips or tricks?
bobscitrus
9 years ago
Featured Answer
Comments (22)
Juttah
9 years agoPattiG(rose)
9 years agoRelated Discussions
Fall clean-up begins
Comments (37)After my adventure with landscape fabric, I must say I'm not a big fan. I had mulched my shade bed with wood chips over 2 layers of landscape fabric. Over about 5 years, with all the leaves that fall, and the wood chips decomposing, I had all sorts of plants growing on top of the fabric, and the soil underneath, which was pretty bad to start with, was rock hard. The biggest part of the mess was my hops. They were planted at the back to cover the bull fence, and had crawled out underneath the fabric four or five feet, coming up wherever they found a hole. I removed as much of the landscape fabric as possible, without completely ripping out all my plants, and put in lawn edging to contain the hops. My Stella D'oro, which hadn't bloomed for years, had grown to the exact size of the hole in the fabric - I had a square plant, which has turned into about 15 little ones. With a little manure compost added the flowers were much happier, if weedier this year. I actually use chopped up straw for mulch in most of my beds and my garden, about 4 inches thick. It stops most weeds but does bring in more dandelions and some grain, of course. All I have left out now are some carrots, the potatoes which could use a couple more weeks to toughen their skins, and the parsnips which are waiting for a good frost. Everything else will wait until later. One thing about all this rain and BRRRR, I may not be able to finish cleaning my windows this weekend - darn :). Maybe I'll have to do something tough like bake or sew. Connie...See MoreYard long beans
Comments (11)I forgot to add to the ingredients that I use chili paste, you can substitute for hot sauce or red pepper flakes, to taste and this ingredient is optional. Some people like it hot, others not. WT Your recipe sounds good too. Bon Appetit! Tom I have not tried the purple yard long beans yet. The red and the green that I have, I picked them when still thin, if you can see the seed it is too late. You can still peeled them and cook the seed or save it. I throw out the rest. Now when I start cooking I heat the pan first to hot, the highest setting on mine is 9, then I quickly add the oil and beans together with the garlic. I test that is hot putting my hand close to the pan and feeling the heat. So far, from all the people that I am sharing the beans with (they all loved them!) First time eaters of these beans, and they are not oriental :) Actually, Tom they are a lot like you.lol My neighbor is learning how to cook and he even lost weight as a bonus. We even shared desserts and homemade bread with them sometimes. I said to him "remember the book, one thousand places to see before you died?" Well. you are going to sample one thousand different foods.lol He did not say a word on the gourd that I gave him .lol Bihai I hope that you get to eat your yard long beans. I don't have the deer problem, so I am no expert. But I have seen in organic catalogs something to repel deer. Maybe you should try that. I used to see them, when I lived in Mass, they sure like some plants more than others. Silvia...See MoreFlamingo Beans
Comments (63)I finally grew out Flamingo this year. I got the seed in a swap in 2013- don't know who it came from, don't say on the tag. It was a big swap, every year I grow a couple kinds in isolation to try out and get seed stock on. I started them a bit early inside, and once they had a nice set of leaves transplanted them out. 10 seeds, 100% germination. They got planted into a 20?gallon tote along the back edge of the tote in a single row. I planted in parsley to fill in the front of the tote. I used 2x4" wire mesh fencing for the trellis- 2 foot wide panel accommodated the 10 bean plants nicely with a bit of training to keep them straight. South facing up my front porch. They climbed all the way up and over the lattice of the roof of the porch by a bit, so vines were around 15 feet maybe by the time they stopped. Not particularly plush on foliage, more vining than leafing. Not a particularly heavy producer- but then that's because I grew it out more for seed stock than eating off of, and I know not picking beans can make them less productive in general. Off the 10 plants we got the first blush taste and a couple 6-10 bean harvests to taste before I left the plant to just make a few more beans to fully mature out. Had a problem after the first tasting picks while the seed beans were about mid-season- in the middle of August while I was out of town the drip system failed and a bunch of fresh blooms and baby pods went zptht. But the plant recovered well after I got back and produced many good seed pods. First couple beans on the vine were more greenish with blush- but I picked them early so we could try them- very tasty fresh off the plant. Patient enough to wait for the next beans to really show their colors- and they did, lovely rose and yellow mottled streaking goodness like in the pictures already posted. Even better tasting than the first couple. Very fresh and beany with a good crisp mouthfeel, juicy without being watery, good skins that were delicate to the bite. An excellent fresh bean for salads and fresh veggy trays types of eating. Didn't get far enough for trying cooked- the few we raided got eaten right up fresh before there was even a chance. The rest of the beans I just let grow out for seed. I got several pods that yielded up about 90 seeds. Not enough to try as a eating dry bean, but seed a plenty to grow out. The pods were lovely, and kept up nice color while drying out till they really started drying and the pods were then more of a dark mahogany/chestnut streaked color- still fairly appealing and easy to see among the foliage. The bean seeds themselves were nicely speckled like in above pictures... coloration reminded me of a milky way bar with the pale nougat and milk chocolate. Overall a very solid bean with a lovely trellising habit nice enough to dress the porch with that tastes great. I will grow it again sometime in the future....See MoreMesquite tree
Comments (13)Here's a recipe that I found: MESQUITE BEAN JELLY ÂÂ 1 1/2 gal. mesquite beans ÂÂ 1 c. or 18 oz. bottle lemon juice ÂÂ 4 qts. water ÂÂ 1 box sure jello ÂÂ 7 c. sugar Choose ripe mesquite beans with a red tinge, but without insect holes. Pick beans only from tree; do not use beans on the ground. Wash and break into pieces; cover with water and soak overnight. Pour off water. Cook beans for one hour in 4 quarts water. Drain and save juice. Place 5 cups of juice in a pan; add lemon juice and boil 5 minutes. Continue boiling and stirring constantly while adding 1 box sure jell and sugar. Cook 5 minutes longer. Strain through cheese cloth and pour into jelly jars and seal. This makes an amber colored jelly. I've never made it myself, but I have a beautiful mesquite tree on the north side and I would like to try it this year. But it's a big tree, I wonder how I'm gonna get up there to pick those beans? Cheryl...See Moremingtea
9 years agolazy_gardens
9 years agoharolds
9 years agogrant_in_arizona
9 years agodogpeach
9 years agoFascist_Nation
9 years agoazmom
9 years agolazy_gardens
9 years agocarolssis
9 years agorcates
8 years agogrant_in_arizona
8 years agovioletwest
8 years agoFascist_Nation
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agovioletwest
8 years agovioletwest
8 years agoChalk Hill LLC
8 years agovioletwest
8 years agoCharles Wright
last yearMarcy White
10 months ago
Related Stories
HOUSEKEEPINGClean Up Your Cleanup Zones
Make chore time more pleasant by tidying up your laundry room and updating cleaning tools
Full StoryHEALTHY HOME6 Tips From a Nearly Zero-Waste Home
Lower your trash output and increase your quality of life with these ideas from a mom who did it to the max
Full StoryKITCHEN DESIGNHouzzers Say: Top Dream Kitchen Must-Haves
Tricked-out cabinets, clean countertops and convenience top the list
Full StoryFURNITURE10 Secrets of Successful Secondhand Furniture Shopping
Design professionals offer tips on how, where and what to buy
Full StoryDECORATING GUIDESSurprise Contender: Burlap for Accessories
Burlap gets a bad rap, but don't bristle at the thought of using it. With these tips, it can put your decor in fine form
Full StoryLIFEHow Do You Make Your Tea and Coffee in the Morning?
A morning cup is a must for many, and preparation comes in many guises. We look at coffee and tea habits across the Houzz community
Full StoryMOST POPULARA Fine Mess: How to Have a Clean-Enough Home Over Summer Break
Don't have an 'I'd rather be cleaning' bumper sticker? To keep your home bearably tidy when the kids are around more, try these strategies
Full StoryFEEL-GOOD HOME12 Very Useful Things I've Learned From Designers
These simple ideas can make life at home more efficient and enjoyable
Full StoryKITCHEN DESIGNHow to Keep Your White Kitchen White
Sure, white kitchens are beautiful — when they’re sparkling clean. Here’s how to keep them that way
Full StoryKITCHEN WORKBOOK8 Steps to Surviving a Kitchen Remodel
Living through a kitchen remodel isn’t always fun, but these steps will help you work around a kitchen in disarray
Full StorySponsored
More Discussions
lazy_gardens