Camp, I too cannot stand butter beans from a can nor frozen, these are just as terrible and overly large and tough as the green peas found in tv dinners, yuk. Wayne, thanks for the Fordhook bush tip but my bush days are over except for snaps (green beans) which is the best way to freeze large fresh batches at once. My back ain't what she used to be so my days bending over to pick BBs is behind me. Last year while I was expecting a dismal repeat of King of the Garden limas I planted Butter Peas bush variety as a back-up, these were productive and tasty but way too much effort bending over to harvest. Sticking to pole picking. PN, wonder what the heck happened to Sieva seed beans? If King of the Hill seed wasn't offered around here we'd have zero pole varieties on the market today. Wish too that I had saved some Sieva seed :(

Hi, I've been lurking and learning on GW for quite a while now, and finally decided I'd better post something. Harry shared the wonderful Black Jungle beans with us and they are producing delicious beans here in Northern California. Typically, we don't get limas until August/September, and this year the BJ's were first. We've had a very cool summer. We are also starting to get Gigandes (the lima, not the runner bean), Speckled Calicos, Dreer's Improved, and Illinois Giants, but haven't yet eaten Dr. Martin's or any of the bush limas, which we got in later (German Red Bush, Fordhook, Dixie Butterpea and Jackson Wonder). Does anyone here grow the Gigandes lima? It is the largest seeded lima that we've grown, and yet it seems to cook more quickly than other limas. As soon as it hits the water, the seed coat splits, and the beans I cooked tonight (from yellowing pods) were done in 15 minutes! This is the first year here for both BJs and Gigandes. Also, I wanted to mention that the German Red Bush lima is different from Dixie Speckled Butterpea. I got the German Red Bush seed from a place in Pennsylvania (http://www.landisvalleymuseum.org/2011seeds.pdf). This is our second year growing the GRs. Hope we'll get some beans to harvest soon. Glad you got to enjoy some, Harry! Jana Here is a link that might be useful: Landis Valley

I planted over 1000 ft, 23 var.in Apr.and have only gotten a couple of meals so far. They are growing real well Some have reached 12 ft.and still climbing The hot weather here,[mid 90's +] have slowed down pollination This may also be your problem I expect them to really start producing as soon as it cools off some I use a small amount of 0-10-10 at planting time I treat the seeds with inoculant before planting I also put out mollasses to feed the microbes in early spring Charlie

I usually make those colored devilled eggs for Easter, I think Marilyn first posted the instructions here. I boil the eggs, peel and cut in half, remove the yolk. Make dye according to the instructions on the back of the food coloring box, and just put the egg white halves in until they're the color I want. Mash up the yolks, make your filling and fill the newly colored whites. I've made different colors for Easter, pink/blue/yellow/green/ lavender. Very colorful, LOL. These might also be good for your hubby's brunch, they're easy to eat, aren't too messy, recipe makes a lot and they have corned beef and rye. My family loves them, but I usually add sauerkraut to the filling mix to make them more like Reubens. I also use low fat mayo and cream cheese and sour cream but to make up for that the girls like shredded swiss cheese added to the mix. Can't make 'em low fat you know. (grin) Darned if I know where the recipe came from, I've been making them for years, since that era in time when I was dedicated to making a good cream puff. They aren't that hard but for some reason I had a block about how difficult it was to make that dough! Reuben/Rye Puffs Makes approximately 4 dozen 1 cup water 1/2 cup butter, cubed 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup rye flour 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 4 eggs Caraway seeds FILLING: 2 eight ounce packages cream cheese, softened 4 oz. thinly sliced leftover or deli corned beef, chopped 1/2 cup mayonnaise (I use low fat) 1/4 cup sour cream (I use low fat) 2 tablespoons minced chives 2 tablespoons diced onion 1 teaspoon spicy brown or horseradish mustard (I like the horseradish best) In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring water and butter to a boil. Add flours, parsley, garlic powder and salt all at once; stir until a smooth balls forms. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat until smooth. Drop batter by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Sprinkle with caraway. Bake at 400° for 18-20 minutes or until golden. Remove to wire racks. Immediately cut a slit in each puff to allow steam to escape; cool. In a large bowl, combine filling ingredients. Split puffs and fill. Refrigerate or serve immediately. As for that bean salad, I just make a traditional three bean marinated salad, but Elery likes the addition of a can of quartered artichokes. If you left out the kidney beans it would be more "green" in color. Kind of. Or use canellini instead of red kidney beans... Three Bean Salad 1/3 cup cider vinegar 1/3 cup vegetable oil 1/3 cup honey 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 can artichoke quarters, rinsed and drained 1 can (15 ounces) green beans, rinsed and drained 1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained 1 can (15 ounces) yellow beans, rinsed and drained 1 medium onion, chopped 1 medium green pepper, chopped In a large bowl, whisk the vinegar, oil, honey, savory and salt until blended. Add the beans, onion and green pepper; stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Serve with a slotted spoon. Yield: 8 servings. have fun! Annie