Hi, I am a part of my agricultural class at school and we created a fully indoor, self-sustained hydroponics system. However, as we are a public charter school, we have limited resources and are looking for donations. anything you can offer would be amazing. we can offer payment for shipping or SASBE. If you consider making a donation, please email me at makenziejordyn@yahoo.com Thank you so much, Jordyn P.S. We are just now learning how to start from seed, so any kind of donations you make would be appreciated. Plant sales will be used to help fund the school and excess produce will be donated to a local soup kitchen. :D

"wait, wait...are you saying I can put six HUNDRED plants in a 10x10 plot???" Those yields are based upon a degree of soil conditioning that is very labor-intensive... and while I have read of such recommendations, I have yet to see photos, or hear first-hand observations, proving that they would work for most gardeners. All of the digging aside, in my area, I'd be flirting with disaster if I crowded my beans that closely. Personally, I wouldn't recommend it. Most bush beans - when healthy & mature - have a footprint of 1/2 - 1 sq. ft. or larger. 100 plants (1 per sq. ft.) should be a safe bet; I've successfully used 6" between plants w/ 2-foot spacing between rows, which is close to the same thing. You might be able to get away with 2-3 plants per sq. ft. for the more compact varieties. Crowding more closely than that may work in the warm dry climate of California; but in the cooler, wetter Northern climes, it could lead to severe disease problems. I'm not saying that it wouldn't work... just that I wouldn't put all my eggs in that one basket, unless/until small-scale trials proved it to be successful. In a post above, I had mentioned "seed efficiency". To put that in perspective, large kidney beans are somewhere in the neighborhood of 40-60 seeds per ounce. If planted at the recommended bio-intensive density of 600+ for a 10' X 10' plot, you would need between 10-16 ounces of seed to plant... so you would need to buy (or save from the previous season) a pound of seed. Assuming you harvest 24 pounds of dry seed (which is, keep in mind, the best case scenario), it would represent a return of between 24/1 & 38/1, depending upon seed size. Most gardeners would get much less than that, since the maximum is for experienced gardeners, on well amended soil. In contrast, my observations are that large-seeded bush beans, given the 6" plant/2' row spacing I mentioned above, are easily capable of a seed increase of between 50/1 - 100/1. Small-seeded types will tend to yield about the same weight/plant, but at an even higher ratio of increase, well over 100/1... so in terms of cost effectiveness (if purchasing seed) small is often better. Pole beans can do better still; the "Striped Cornfield" I grew this year (@45 seeds/oz.) produced a return of over 500/1! My results were obtained by mechanical tilling, with leaves & mulch turned under each season. Using these numbers, the same kidney beans - if grown in 5 rows in the same 10' X 10' plot - would be 100 plants. This would produce between 5 & 10 pounds of seed minimum... with only 2 ounces of seed required for planting, the average in a packet of beans. Also, at this spacing, the plants have sufficient air flow through the foliage to minimize the chances of disease during prolonged periods of rainfall. Having tested that theory in some very bad years recently (such as in 2008) I consider these yields to be realistically attainable, year after year. I don't doubt that my spacings could be improved upon; it is something that I often experiment with. Most likely, there is a happy medium somewhere between row spacing & high-density plantings which will produce the best yield, for a given area, with the littlest possible seed. That "happy medium" should take into account the expected annual variations in climate, since what works well one year, might not work the next. With soybeans, I have had some success with closely-spaced double rows, with standard row spacing between the pairs... so that may work for bush beans as well. Given the observations I have made on over 100 bean varieties over the years, I expect the optimal spacing will vary widely, depending upon variety, climate, and soil fertility. So there is really no "one correct answer" for bean spacing... just starting points for personal experimentation. Keep in mind, John Jeavons' bio-intensive recommendations mentioned above pertain to bush beans only. Pole beans are not suitable for wide bed planting, due to shading. However, you can have the best of both worlds using pole beans. Planted in a single row on the North side of the bed (where they would not shade shorter crops), they take up a relatively small footprint. A high-yielding pole variety could give you 3-4 pounds of dry seed from one row in that same 10' X 10' bed. You could use the majority of the bed(s) for other things, and still get a good crop of beans. My apologies for all of the long (and probably dry) posts, but as an amateur researcher, I just wanted to share some "bean science". Just wish this was on the Bean Forum.

Yep, what Ruthie said. Now, you didn't say if they were pole beans or bush beans. If they are pole beans, I would pick all mature / over mature beans now. If you don't, your plants will quit producing. I don't know what Zone you're in, but you should be able to harvest pole beans into mid/late September. Bush beans generally produce one flush of beans, then they're done. I have read that if you cut your bush beans down to six inches (some folks use a lawnmower!), they will come back and produce another flush. I've never tried it so I don't know if it works or not. I guess it would also depend on your Zone as well. Anyway, throwing them away should be your last choice! You should either freeze or shell, depending on moisture content, as others have said above. Good luck. Rick

Thai Green Beans and butternut squash 1 medium butternut squash, split in half and baked at 350C until done (pierce with a fork to test) 1 can regular coconut milk (15 oz or so) 2 cups fresh cut green beans (frozen works too but fresh is best) 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp sugar 1 tbsp lemon or lime juice 3 leaves from a kaffir lime 1 small bunch of fresh thai basil AKA Siam queen (regular sweet basil will also work) 1 small bunch chopped scallions 1 sliced hot pepper (I used cayenne and thai red peppers, leave in slices so they can be removed if desired  green hot peppers will also work here) Salt to taste Bake butternut squash. When cool enough to handle, peel, seed and cut into 1 inch chunks. Open can of coconut milk. Use some of the solids on top (the oil) to sauté garlic, kaffir lime leaves, sugar, salt and hot peppers for just a few minutes (do not burn the garlic). Add green beans and squash cubes and stir. Add the rest of the coconut milk can and cook for 10-15 minutes until green beans are done. Taste, adjust seasonings and sprinkle top with chopped scallions.