I probably shouldn't even tell y'all this....
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
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I Probably Shouldn't
Comments (24)Although the plant is illegal to own for most folks, there is no grand network to seize each individual plant. Photos have been posted over the years, and I don't remember reading about any legal action taken against any individual from these boards. That said, posting pics "just for pretty" must carry a tiny bit of risk, even if it is only the risk of showing some whacko where to find a plant. From what I understand, potted up specimens are slow to make the new heads, so that you could expect a buzz every five or 10 years. So until a L. williamsii craze sweeps the country and forces the gov't to take another look at c&s collections, I wouldn't lose any sleep about this post....See MoreI shouldn't have to ask this!
Comments (14)"I have grown the Red Noodle Asparagus Beans. I found them to be aphid magnets (I mean COVERED with big fat aphids!), which, in turn drew ants. They are beautiful plants and incredibly prolific, no matter how hot it gets. Unfortunately, my family didn't much like the taste and the beautiful red beans turn ebony black when cooked, which are somewhat unappetizing to my group." There is a trick to restore most of the color... all it takes is a little vinegar. The vinegar will turn the cooked Red Noodle beans back to a burgundy red, and make a deep red sauce. If the vinegar flavor is too strong, you can pour it off after the color change. It's possible lemon juice would restore the red color too, but I haven't tried it yet (an experiment I will try this year). If eaten as a side dish, my family likes yardlongs seasoned with vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic powder. Yardlongs cook quickly, so for the best color & texture, don't over-cook them. You can blanch & freeze them too, but due to their low moisture content, they get freezer burn very quickly. I freeze the cut up beans first in plastic freezer boxes, then remove the frozen block & place it in a vacuum sealed bag. (Pre-freezing this way also reduces the chance of seal failure in the vacuum bag, caused by liquid & debris being pulled over the seal as air is evacuated.) The "hollowness" of yardlong beans can be caused by water stress - even if the plants don't show other symptoms. Yardlongs are at their best when the soil is not allowed to dry out. My best year ever for yardlongs was a year of record rainfall; while much of my garden languished during the flooding, only two things flourished - yardlongs, and edamame soybeans. I highly recommend a thick layer of mulch around yardlong beans, to preserve soil moisture locally at a high level. For me, this heavy mulch - along with frequent irrigation - makes the pods consistently longer & more succulent. When picking yardlong beans, be careful not to break off the delicate tip of the flower stalk. That is where new flowers will form, so if you treat those tips with care, you'll get a larger crop. About yardlongs & ants. The nectar given off by the by the extrafloral nectaries (the bumps on the stem below the flowers) attracts several insects. Ants are the most common, and are often the source of the aphid infestations, since they "farm" the aphids. These ants will defend the plants very aggressively, which is probably the reason the plants evolved to attract them. Generally, the ants are only an annoyance... I just thump the pods prior to picking to knock off the ants. But some years, carpenter ants colonize the vines, in which case I take measures to control the ants. But in my garden, wasps and ladybugs are also attracted in large numbers. This makes them great plants to maintain a ladybug population within the garden. If you purchase ladybugs, time their release for when flowering begins, to make them "stay home". Contrary to the hyperactivity of the ants, wasps feeding on yardlong nectar become very docile, almost as if they are intoxicated. I can move among the plants & harvest even when there are wasps there in large numbers. I was stung only once - when there was a wasp sitting on the back side of a pod I was picking, and I accidentally grabbed it. Even then, the wasp only stung me lightly, then flew back to the vines. Personally, I like to attract wasps, since they are valuable insect predators... but if you are allergic to wasp stings, you might not want to grow yardlongs. Yardlongs are just climbing cowpeas (Southern peas) that were bred for their pods instead of seeds, so all of the above pertains to cowpeas as well. Bigoledude, in your hot climate, there are two other climbing beans you might be interested in. Hyacinth beans love tropical heat, and as the name implies, have beautiful fragrant blossoms. There are both green and purple podded cultivars, I would recommend the purple due to their thicker pods. The pods are cooked & eaten much like snap beans... they must be picked young, though, before seeds develop. You might also want to try Winged Bean, which forms interesting 4-sided pods. Not sure how they would hold up, but they might make some really interesting pickles. The flowers, young leaves, and tubers of Winged Bean are also edible....See Morei should be glad i have another year to get started, shouldn't i?
Comments (11)fallingwaters; first of all, know that your you and your dh, and his hea lth care prov iders are in my prayers. Your priorities are in the right place, although I know there is some disappointment after getting so much in place for the renovation. I, too, put off my kitchen for a year. My MIL fractured her hip and was having repeated complications, my husbands workload increased at work and by being the primary healthcare surrogate for his mom. I sensed that just having the stress of ripping out the kitchen -- but also of not HAVING a functional kitchen, was a bit more than our family could deal with. My kitchen is a place of respite, even if in it's current state it isn't perfect. My experience has been like needssometips and jreuter. I saved up some more $$. I'm not putting that extra into the kitchen, but it is giving us a bit more of a cushion. 2. I've gotten just about every wee decision made, down to the gar bage di sposal, and what I'm lining the drawers with. Except for the darn faucet. Still trying to figure it out. In the next few months as you go thru this with your husband, there will likely be times when you feel out of control. Looking at pulls and such and making a few decisions unrelated to the health aspects may help you get a feeling of control back. And in the middle of the night, when you can't sleep, no doubt someone has posted a tittilating post (I know that isn't spelled right) that may take your mind off the stressors for a few minutes....See MoreI know i shouldn't use the "H" word but, i Can't help it.
Comments (87)After the bath, a couple shriveled, clearly not liking it. But it's definitely satisfying to see white dots floating in the water. I left them out to dry and started to pick more stubborn bugs from some of my plants. Most of them were motionless, so I assumed the soap bath did the trick. So I left the rest alone. Nuked all the soil of new pots with boiling water, followed by a 4 minute cook off in the microwave. I set them off to dry for a few days, and I tried to pot them up last night. And guess what? The mealies SURVIVE!! Except for those that I had picked on, the rest still had tiny bugs crawling in them. You can call them eggs, larvae whatever, I got fed up. Took out my tub of rubbing Alcohol dunk half a containerful with more dish soap, and yanked everything into the concoction. Rinsed them into another tub of water, and set them off to dry again. This time I inspected every single one. Miraculously, no white stuff or survivors. I'm guessing it worked. The poor remaining plantlets all don't look good. I guess only time will tell if these all can be saved. Will continue to update... Oh, and I also found infestations on my new jades too, thankfully I caught the spread and am now containing it, or at least am trying to.....See More- 9 years ago
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