In the legume family, in general dried beans are higher in protein than dried peas. I think soybeans are the highest,followed by lentils, followed by dried beans in general (black beans, pinto beans, garbanzo beans, etc.) and then by dried peas. In the pea category, dried southern peas (blackeyes, pinkeye purplehulls, zipper peas, crowder peas, etc.) are a little higher in protein than dried green peas (English peas, etc.).

It goes without saying that any bean or pea harvested and eaten as a snap bean or as a edible podded pea or as a shelly green bean or pea has less protein than those grown to maturity and harvested dry because at the green stage they have not yet fully developed the proteins that will develop before you harvest them as dried peas/beans.

I've grown most of the bean varieties offered by SESE but I grow them as snap beans or as shelly beans(particularly lima beans) at the green stage but not as dried beans, and they produce just fine in spring and fall, but most flower and set beans poorly in mid-summer because the heat impedes their pollination. Pretty much any bean variety I ever have grown, excluding runner beans which also have trouble in high heat, will produce well with only minimal irrigation as long as the temperatures don't go too far above about 90 degrees. At 90 degrees, blossom drop often becomes a problem.

I don't grow beans or peas to the dried bean or pea stage because both are so inexpensive to buy in bulk at the grocery store that it does not make any logical sense to me to devote a lot of garden space to growing them and then devote a lot of time to shelling them, only to have a relatively small harvest as a result. When you grow beans to the dry stage, you are discarding the dry pods and keeping the dry beans/peas and it is amazing how a big bucket of bean or pea pods gives you relatively few peas/beans (by weight or volume) once shelled compared to all the empty, dried pods you throw on the compost pile. I don't like spending all that time growing and harvesting them only to keep 5% of the plant to eat while composting the rest, but that's just me. I simply like the maximum production from the soil we've spent years improving, and raising beans or peas to the dry stage gives us a smaller harvest overall than harvesting them and eating them as snap peas or snap beans, although the same harvest if eating them as green shellies.

Drought tolerance is in the eyes of the beholder to a certain extent because there are many kinds of drought. Beans or peas that grow and produce well in moderate or severe drought might not grow and produce nearly as well once your area advances to extreme or exceptional drought. The beans that have produced best for me in periods of extreme or exceptional drought are Rattlesnake, Worchester Indian Red Lima and Violet's Multicolored Butter Beans. All southern peas produce very well in heat and drought.

Dawn

thank you dawn.mulling it all over.grateful for your input.

I've grown Mesquakie Indian Corn and Cherokee Squaw. Mesquakie Indian is a small kernel dent with flint tendencies. Cherokee Squaw is a larger seeded dent corn which has somewhat softer dried kernels. Both of these corns have excellent, sturdy root systems and sturdy stalks, which make them good for Oklahoma conditions, especially wind.

I've grown the Mesquakie Indian Corn more often than Cherokee Squaw, and in more drought like conditions. It certainly does better with proper irrigation. But if it gets past knee high, and we have no more rain, I think it would make a crop. The ears would just be smaller and less filled out.

There are many varieties of open pollinated corn, suitable for cornmeal, parched corn or grits. It's just a matter of trying them, to see what does best for you and what you like best. Sandhill Preservation Center is, in my opinion, the best source for variety in open pollinated corn.

In regard to the two I grow, I have to say that Cherokee Squaw is very impressive and dependable. The corn itself is easier to shell and process. It tastes very good. Mesquakie Indian's kernels are smaller, sharper and harder to shell from the cob. But, oh! how beautiful the colors! I never tire of shucking this corn at harvest and seeing all the colors and shades of color represented in each ear. It is dependable and cornmeal or grits made from it taste very good.

George

Here is a link that might be useful: Corn for Meal & Grits I

George, every time you post about those corns, I get excited to try them. Approximately when do you plant them? I am trying to figure out a winter cover crop to use before the corn. I've not had much luck with corn in the past. Also this is the first year I have noticed the big green June beetles. I read the larva eat corn roots. Do you have trouble with them?

I have planted them from two weeks before the last expected frost until around June 23. I put on my calendar that June 23 is the last day I can plant them. This still gives time for maturing of seed. However, the earlier plantings always produce more. Ideally, I like to have it in by the middle of May. This gives it time to develop real strong, deep roots, before the usual drought arrives.

I completely ignore the June bugs and their larva, other than, I do like to give them to my poultry as a treat. I see almost no damage from their presence and stopped, some years ago, paying them any heed.

George

Thank you, George!