Here's a sample of the dried seed I have so far, the purple colored ones are the ones I have the most of. There's still quite a few beans on the vines in different stages of growth, but the vines are starting to die back so don't know how much more seed I'll be able to collect. Not that this matters as I'm pretty sure this bean is used as a dry been and I don't grow beans for dry use. Yesterday I noticed flowers on the vines that haven't flowered so far, these are probably daylight sensitive. Up until now all the flowers have been mauve, these flowers are white, I just might tent these with some plastic, if the weather holds, just maybe, but I doubt it. All in all it's been a fun experiment, but doubt very much I'll grow them again. Annette

sorry I didn't mean to make you mad or be a jerk or rain on your parade.... I don't want anyone not to try. But please don't think it's going to be easy.Twelve years ago, I thought I wanted to have my own greenhouse business because I like to grow plants. I thought i wanted to be a market gardener so I'd have work all year long...well it's been a learning curve anyway! so if you like to learn a lot every year, it's a great job for you...and if you think you have it figured out, think again, something will happen for sure...and every time someone comes in the greenhouse or market and says "you have my dream job!" I just groan on the inside. One lady told me she wanted to do this when she retires in a couple of years because it would be easier than her job where she has to stand on her feet for 8 hours. I thought to myself "only 8 hours, where do you work?and "you get to retire? they're actually going to give you money when you do?" She has it made... I never work less than 12 hours all summer from February to November.Broiling in the sun and freezing in the rain because you have to get things picked for market. and the rest of the year I'm cleaning the greenhouses and beds and ordering supplies and going into debt for next year. or cleaning my house that didn't get cleaned all summer or fall or spring especially. And worrying that the wind will take down all your work, or grasshoppers, or thrips, or aphids.I've had the opportunity to learn about bugs and diseases I didn't even know existed when I was just home gardening. A lot of times when you don't see something at the market, it's because it doesn't sell enough to be worth the effort. That's been my experience.I've grown several things I didn't see at the market, it turns out it's because people don't really want it, at least enough to put their cash into action. Purple basil has always been a hard sell for me. I sell plants in the spring, well actually all year long. Purple basil is beautiful, tasty, and you have to beg people to buy it pretty much! heirloom tomatoes is another thing I've had a hard time with. Yes, they taste better and they are probably better in every way. But most customers around here would rather eat a pretty tomato with worse taste than a very tasty one that has a crack or doesn't look quite so appealing.And it's a lot harder to get them to market in good shape. to sell plants in most states, you need to have either a dealers license to resell or a growers license to grow and in our state if you want to grow and sell you need both. I have both. that's extra money and they come and inspect in the spring when you're just so busy you really don't need another hassle! LOL If you don't need to make money at this, then just have fun with it. but please, don't be the person at the market practically giving things away to get people to try it, or if you do have the same things as someone else, don't undercut them much just because you don't have to make a lot of money. value your time and effort. I am just also currently in a bad mood over people who want to do this part time because there are some people who are pretty much ruining our market by having lots and lots of stuff really cheap because they "planted too much" and "we have other jobs anyway". they are selling things so cheap that I wouldn't even haul them to market for that price. It's hard to make money marketing anyway, but especially when you're against that kind of thing!

When I started out with the farmers market business, our extension office was a waste of time. They were interested in 4Hers and home gardeners. They had NOTHING in regards to working a farmers market as a business. Our market has a few 'hobby gardeners', unfortunately they don't know how much it cost to produce their produce and underprice those of us trying to make a profit.

Larry, Dawn ask me to update on the seed experiment. I planted 72 Elbon Rye seeds on Mon., another 72 on Tue.. I was thinking that the link you had to the Farmers Alamanac showed Mon. a good day to plant and Tue a bad day. When I checked the link a few minutes it did not go back to the 10 of Jan. so I may have been dreaming about what I read. The online almanac does not archive the months and always shows starting with today's date. I copy and paste each month to a blog I write on another forum, for my own records. For the sake of your experiment here's the FA planting calander for January and February. January 2011 1st Plant Carrots, Turnips, Onions, Beets, Irish Potatoes And Other Root Crops, In The South. Lettuce, Cabbage, Collards, And Other Leafy Vegetables Will Do Well. Start Seedbeds. Good Day For Transplanting. 2nd-3rd Seeds Planted Now Will Grow Poorly And Yield Little. 4th-5th Good Days For Planting Aboveground Crops Such As Sweet Corn, Beans And Peppers, In Southern Florida, Texas And California. 6th-8th A Good Time To Kill Plant Pests Or Do Plowing. Poor For Planting. 9th-10th Fine For Planting Any Aboveground Crop, Where The Climate Permits. Extra Good For Peppers, Tomatoes, Peas, And Other Vine Crops. 11th-12th Barren Days. Do No Planting. 13th-14th Fine For Planting Beans, Peppers, Cucumbers, Melons And Other Aboveground Crops, Where Climate Is Suitable. 15th-16th Poor Days For Planting. Seeds Tend To Rot In The Ground. 17th-18th Best Planting Days For Aboveground Crops, Especially Peas, Beans, Cucumbers And Squash, Where Climate Is Suitable. Plant Seedbeds And Flower Gardens. 19th-23rd A Barren Time. Best For Killing Weeds, Briars, Poison Ivy, And Other Plant Pests. Clear Woodlots And Fencerows. 24th-25th Favorable Days For Planting Root Crops. Fine For Sowing Grains, Hay, And Forage Crops. Plant Flowers. 26th-28th Plant Carrots, Turnips, Onions, Beets, Irish Potatoes And Other Root Crops, In The South. Lettuce, Cabbage, Collards, And Other Leafy Vegetables Will Do Well. Start Seedbeds. Good Days For Transplanting. 29th-30th Seeds Planted Now Will Grow Poorly And Yield Little. 31st Good Planting Day For Root Crops Where Climate Permits. February 2011 1st-2nd Favorable Planting Days: The First Day For Root Crops; The Second Day For Aboveground Crops Such As Sweet Corn, Beans And Peppers, In Southern Florida, Texas, And California. 3rd-4th Barren Days. Fine For Clearing, Plowing, Fertilizing, And Killing Plant Pests. 5th-6th Plant Peppers, Sweet Corn, Tomatoes And Other Aboveground Crops, In Southern Florida, California, And Texas. Extra Good For Cucumbers, Peas, Cantaloupes, And Other Vine Crops. Set Strawberry Plants. 7th-9th Seeds Planted Now Will Grow Poorly And Yield Little. 10th-11th Fine For Planting Beans, Peppers, Cucumbers, Melons And Other Aboveground Crops, Where Climate Is Suitable. 12th-13th Any Seed Planted Now Will Tend To Rot. 14th-15th Fine For Planting Beans, Tomatoes, Corn, Cotton, Cucumbers, Peppers, Melons And Other Aboveground Crops, Where Climate Allows. Plant Seedbeds And Flower Gardens. 16th-19th Clear Ground, Turn Sod. Kill Plant Pests. 20th-22nd Favorable Days For Planting Root Crops. Fine For Sowing Grains, Hay, And Forage Crops. Plant Flowers. 23rd-24th Plant Carrots, Turnips, Onions, Beets, Irish Potatoes And Other Root Crops, In The South. Lettuce, Cabbage, Collards, And Other Leafy Vegetables Will Do Well. Start Seedbeds. Good Days For Transplanting. 25th-27th Neither Plant Nor Sow On These Barren Days. 28th Any Root Crops That Can Be Planted Now Will Do Well. Keith ______________________________________________________________________________ "A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in." --Greek proverb