More disappointment in the grocery store.
6 years ago
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- 6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
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Slightly informed questions about grocery store beans
Comments (27)"I plan to pre-sprout them so that I only plant the ones that are definitely viable..." Too much labor. A bag of seed is $1.50 - just soak the beans overnight and plant. Plenty will come up. Trust me. "I have no idea exactly what variety these are, how long it will take them to mature and put out fruit, etc. " It makes little difference; they are all about the same. "I do know that they are most likely bush beans, but I do plan on giving them some support if necessary. " It won't be. Let em do their thing. My questions are: "1. If I am planting one 4-ft row, would 4 plants be too many for that space? I may not get many... DH seem to believe that the time and effort to harvest them may far outweigh the relatively cheap cost at which they can be purchased and low output of bean plants." Plant them 4" apart all around - 9-12 per SQUARE FOOT. DH is RIGHT, TOO. I grow them as cover and forage for chickens. And I eat some. But it takes a LOT of plants to make a season. Machine methods make them cheap. But you don't need to adopt them. Grow in sq . foot groups. "2. Since there is a chance that they may be slightly more vine-y than bush-y, is there also a chance that I might be able to clone them?" Don't bother - too much labor again for cheap seed. Just plant more beans. And it won't work anyway; theu don't grow from cuttings. "3. If I pick off pods at some point, will this at all encourage them to grow more? Yes, They keep producing for 2-3 pickings, when picked green. "Say for example, if I pick them off to dry them myself, as opposed to waiting for them to dry on the vine? Can you even do that?" Three pickings: 1. When young pods are about 3-4" long; eat like snap beans. 2. When matured, but still soft and green, as "edamame" or Southern-type "field peas," 3. When completely dried as cooked beans and seed. "4. I understand that they might not set pod once temps reach 80 and above. Being in Chicago, that means potentially by mid-June, but more likely July and August. If they have not set pods by then, will they never set pods, or will they simply set pods later in the season after it cools off again?" Pinto's, Navy's, Limas - they will struggle setting in the heat. Black beans, field peas/cowpeas, lentils, pigeon peas - they love the heat. "5. If they do set pods before the temperature gets too high, and I harvest them, will they again set pods once the weather cools again?" Possibly. They don't last long, and too early will subject them to bean beetles. Once they give their all, I suggest you chop em em up and compost em. Better to grow two crops than try to hold one. "6. I have read in many places that you are actually supposed to wait for the plant to DIE before harvesting the beans. How accurate/efficient is this?" For dried beans, sure. But once the pods are obviously dried, pull the plants up and re-use the space. "7. Lastly, again being in Chicago, we tend to have a very wet fall season. I understand this can complicate the drying process, so what would the recommendation be as far as harvesting the beans before they might be completely dry on the vine, but before the weather gets too wet?" Plant in late May and add plantings every two weeks until mid-July. Your last bunch will come off end of September/early October. Once the beans are mature, you can pull the plants, broom them and hang until completely dry if you wish. By then you will have had your fill of beans, I assure you....See MoreGrocery Store Pluot Trial
Comments (36)To the question about characteristics of Pluots, Plumcots and Apriums: Pluots have mostly plum characteristics. Apriums have mostly Apricot characteristics. Plumcots tend to have characteristics of both. Fruitnut mentions Flavorella above - very flavorful but hard to pollenize and grow. There is an old Zaiger plumcot called "Plum Parfait" that looks like an apricot with some red marbling. It is no longer sold by DWN, but I think it's still available. I haven't tasted it. Supposed to be self-fruitful. There is a UDSA variety bred for the upper Southeast, Spring Satin, which others can fill you in on. It was over-hyped by a disreputable nursery in Florida and other nurseries (shamefully) adopted their description. It looks like a plum with a little fuzz. I have an old Luther Burbank plumcot variety, sold by wholesaler L.E. Cook. Variety name is not identified. It's a small, easy-care tree with beautiful bark and foliage and blossoms larger and showier than on most culinary plums. You will never find this plumcot in a grocery store. Fruits are apricot-sized or smaller, pastel yellow with a red blush when ripe. It softens while still tart. When perfectly ripe, it is very soft with a pleasant, mildly sweet flavor which reminds me of rose water. It is nothing like the bolder-flavored Pluots. It has a very short harvest window, and over-ripe fruits quickly disintegrate into mush. It often bears some fruit on the main branches as well as on newer growth. It does not bear young, but seems to be self-pollenizing and is about as reliable and prolific as the typical Japanese plum. The best use I can think of for the excess fruit that comes on all at once is mixing it with stronger-flavored fruits in fruit leather....See Moreany more grocery store ideas ???
Comments (94)Is there a website or email group that continues with this thread: I've read this thread both here and in the frugal forum, and since I noticed the person in the frugal forum really wanted the thread to stop, and both have been inactive for a few years... I imagine folks don't want to restart here, but I'm interested in a handful of plants, not mentioned here, that I imagine could be grown from pieces of grocery store vegetables, like: a. broccoli from a bit of stalk? b. belgian endives from their stalks( since lettuce and cabbage work from their stalk)? c. kale, collard, mustard greens that don't end in just a leaf tip, but are still connected, thus have about a 1/2 inch to an inch of stalk --would that grow? d. how about brussel sprouts bought on their stalk, would the stalk grow brussels if planted? e. will a turnip or rutabega root grow if you plant the greens with 1/2 inch of stalk, or even if you just plant that course stalk with no greens? Again, I'm just listing my curiousities here, but I don't expect the thread to be reopened and my questions answered, --I'd just like to be referred to a website or email list that specificly focuses on this if you found out about one. Thanks, ~Diana...See MoreHow FRESH is Grocery Store Fresh Fish?
Comments (46)Ammonia? Nope! Just "fishy," and that's often why people don't like fish. Just soak that baby in salty ice water and cook it prior to dinner. It will taste and be fresh. @donna_in_sask DH just called from Costco asking the usual DH questions. I didn't tell him to buy fish, but it's a 3 hour drive home since it's rush hour. He went for a doctor appt, and I gave him the Costco list. He's bringing home those nice lamb chops they have, but no fish. Tonight is just homemade pasta sauce over angel hair, Caprese salad with real buffalo mozzarella and some garlic toast....See More- 6 years ago
- 6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
- 6 years ago
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