"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.

Lou, you are the pasta fagoli king! Here's the black beans I made last weekend and had this weekend with rice, yum! Basic Black Turtle Beans - from 'The Bean Bible' by Aliza Green 1 lb. black turtle beans 1 ham hock or 1 tsp. liquid smoke (Being mostly vegetarian I don't know anything about ham hocks. When I make this type of recipe I use either 1 TBLSP fake bacon bits or some ancient McCormick stuff I have called 'Hickory Smoked Salt.' It's probably illegal now due to the nitrates, lol!) 1 whole onion stuck with 6 whole cloves (I diced up most of the onion and just stuck the cloves in two large pieces that I could fish out later) 2 bay leaves 2-3 sprigs fresh epazote tied with kitchen string, or 2 TBLSP dried oregano or marjoram (I used 1 scant tsp. dried epazote, and 1 tsp. dried oregano. I get the dried epazote from Penzey's mail order). 2 tsp. salt. I also added 1 tsp. of Adobo seasoning, which is a garlic, cumin, onion and oregano mix that I also get from Penzeys. Rinse the soaked black beans under cold water. Place in a large pot and cover generaously with cold water. Bring to a boil, then drain, discarding the water. (Or not. I soaked in twice their volume of water overnight, then drained and cooked in the crockpot with 4 cups veggie broth and the above ingredients). Add the ham hock and other seasonings EXCEPT the salt. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 2 hours, (That's if you're doing on top of the stove. I simmered for 8 hours on low in the crockpot). Add salt after 2 hours if doing on top of the stove and cook for 1 hour longer or until tender to the bite. (Add salt at the end if doing in the crockpot. Salting beforehand makes the bean skins tough) Remove from heat and allow beans to cool. Take out cloves bay leaves and the ham hock. Remove the meat from the ham hock and add that back to the bean pot, discard the bone. Discard the bunch of epazote if you used the fresh stuff (which I have never seen in the mainstream groceries where I shop). Ladle into pint jars leaving 1/2 inch head space. Lable and freeze. For black beans and rice, add the beans to cooked rice seasoned with chili sauce. I used a can of mexican style stewed tomatoes (sans basil) or you can use plain chopped tomatoes and add your own sauteed onions, pepper and celery if you like. Season with chili powder to taste. Garnish with shredded cheddar and a dollop of sour cream. Here is a link that might be useful: Penzeys Spice Company

I agree with lazygardens. You shouldn't use these beans for human consumption. Those mold spores (mildew) can also be deadly aflatoxins. You need to take care storing grains/beans/seeds to prevent mold, so do some study on the subject to prevent so much waste. Another suggestion... Although they have a good storage time, I'd suggest you purchase only what you can reasonable use within a year or two. and keep it rotated. Old beans don't work well for food preparation, and take a lot longer to cook, which requires a lot more energy. If you do need to use old beans, they will cook faster if you mill the beans into bean flour before cooking. "Fresh" pinto beans will be a creamy tan color. The older they get the darker they will get, so that is one way to check age. -Grainlady

Most of this information comes from "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, Ph.D., if you need a good book on the topic. Our ancestors soaked (or fermented) grains/seeds/beans. In India rice and lentils are fermented for at least two days before they are prepared as idli and dosa. In Africa coarsely ground corn is soaked overnight before adding it to soups and stews, and they ferment corn or millet for several days to produce a sour porridge called ogi. Mexican pozol are fermented for several days and for as long as two weeks in banana leaves. Europeans made slow-rise breads from fermented starters (aka naturally-leavened breads). In Scotland it was the custom to prepare oatmeal in large batches and pour the cooked cereal into a drawer in the kitchen hutch or dresser. As needed, squares of congealed oatmeal could be cut out and reheated by adding a little water. This process allowed the oatmeal to ferment a second time. The reason....as you already mentioned - all grains contain phytic acid in the outer layer or bran. When it's not treated (soaked, sprouted, fermented) phytic acid combines with calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and especially zinc in the intestinal tract and blocks absorption. Diets high in unfermented whole grains can lead to serious mineral deficiencies and bone loss. Soaking allows enzymes, lactobacilli and other helpful organisms to break down and neutralize phytic acid. As little as seven hours of soaking in warm acidulated water will neutralize a large portion of phytic acid in grains. Many years ago there were instructions on the oatmeal package for soaking it overnight and cooked it the next morning. Oats actually contain more phytates than almost any other grain. Back in the oat bran fad, frequent consumption of large amounts of oat bran lead to mineral losses, allergies and irritation of the intestinal tract due to the phytic acid. I also process nuts by soaking them in lightly salted water and then dehydrating them - what we call "Crispy Nuts". After being processed the nuts are much easier to digest and will store much longer. Many people who start a "natural" diet without first treating the grains/seeds/beans/nuts they consume can quickly find they suffer from digestive issues. I don't process 100% of the grains/seeds/beans/nuts we consume, but I do process a large percentage of them. If I consume something that hasn't been processed first, I make sure I take a digestive enzyme after consumption. By sprouting first (which requires soaking then several days of rinsing) I reduce the carbohydrates, increase the nutrition, and make them easier to digest. It's essentially pre-digested food. I am currently using sprouted brown rice, lentils, quinoa, corn (milled into cornmeal), sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, buckwheat, nuts, beans (a variety of them). Sprouting beans before consuming them will also make them (ahem) "less noisy" ;-). This is important for my use because a large percentage of our diet is whole grains/seeds/beans/nuts. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Nourished Kitchen