Bean people... I got a ??

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Uncle Ivan is down piddling in his garden - HIS is on a slope so he can get in and work his while I'm sitting here staring at mud (and having a little pity party for myself, just in case you couldn't tell!)

Anyhow - he says he want to plant some butter beans, but can't find any seed. Never having had the urge to plant butter beans, I didn't know what to tell him. He bought some lima bean seed, but the picture shows them as being green and he wants yellow ones. Anybody got any ideas where I can find him some butter bean seed? Might make him inclined to be generous when his 'maters get ripe - and considering that mine are still in pots on the front porch...I wouldn't mind butterin' him up just a tiny little bit!

Many thanks!

-- Anonymous, June 10, 2001

Answers

I know butter beans as dried limas. You let them go to maturity and dry on the vine.There are some of the lima varieties that are better for this,but I'd have to check it out..I grow the Henderson bush baby limas and have for 30+ yrs. I always let some go to dry.Also,this is an O.P. heirloom and you can save the seed. Love my butterbeans.

What variety did he get? There is one that will not go the yellow and tastes awful dried.

-- Anonymous, June 10, 2001


I grow the Henderson....I always thought that was the "butter bean".

-- Anonymous, June 10, 2001

Polly

Thorogreen is the one that never goes to butterbean. I finally remembered the name.

For the bigger butterbeans,King of the Garden and Jackson Wonder are recommended,if Uncle likes those better.I have not grown either,so no personal recommendations to offer. Both are O.P. and heirlooms tho.

I happen to really like the henderson both as a green lima and butterbean.But I have two others that I'm trialing,if I can ever get enough to taste.

On limas,if you do want to save the seed,only grow one lima variety,unless you know isolation requirements, as their isolation distance is much longer than green beans.But you can grow it right with the green beans since they are two diff. species.

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2001


Thanks for the info Sharon and Diane!

Hey Sharon! Went over and got the Henderson seed for Unc and the lazy bum wouldn't come down in the heat and humidity yesterday to plant them - what kind of gardener is he!? Of course, when I got his 1/2 lb of seed, I got one for myself too - he may have beat me out in the "Great Tomato Race" this year, but by golly - I'll get my beans in the ground before he will!! I got baby jalapenos too!

Getting ready to head to Rural King to get 40 feet of weed barrier for the front flower beds - just can't fight no mo!! Gonna do them mostly in perennials - I've got Monarda (red and pink), peonies, bleeding heart, poppies, shasta and painted daisies and delphiniums; then adding in some dahlias (never grown 'em before - they say perennial) and tossing in some glad bulbs. Pop is yelling 'cause you have to dig the glads every year, but I spent like $4 for 80-100 bulbs and figure they can stay in the ground if I'm too tired to dig 'em. Sis is planning on coming home to unpack and sort out her laundry, so when I go over to wash it, I'll probably pick up a few petunias to put here and there - in the blank spots. My nicotiana in the hanging baskets doesn't look too good, so thinking of moving it down to the beds and putting petunias in the baskets instead. Or fuschia. Or moss rose. (Hee-hee, another excuse to go scope out the garden supply!)

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2001


Polly, I think if you have to "dig" glads where you are you will have to dig the dahlias....right sharon???

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2001


Drat! Double drat!! Oh well, I'll just buy some more popsicle sticks when I go to town so I can mark where I put 'em. Either that, or revise that nice layout I sat and worked on for a couple of hours last night. I got them for 50 cents a package, too; so I reckon they can try their luck with the Illinois winter too, if it comes to that!

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2001

Polly you are pretty borderline for dahlias being perennial but you can always leave a few in and see.I gardened very little when I lived in Indiana across from you.I was never there.Otherwise,I'd have a better idea.I can leave them in,here.

You do need to come visit.I got all kinds of perennials to spare.You sure don't need to buy them.

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2001


I'm further north than Polly, at least 200 miles I think. Dahlias and glads have to be dug up here, UNLESS you have some way to moderate the temps in the bed. I used to work at a hospital, and one of the volunteers always brought in flowers from her garden. She had gorgeous dahlias. She said she didn't have to dig them up, because they were planted right next to a brick wall (which had a foundation below it, of course). This was a southern exposure, and apparently, the brick wall was enough of a heat sink that she didn't have to dig them up!

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2001

I am growing Scarlet Runner beans for the first time with the intention of eating them (that is to say, finally having a garden where I think they may actually set seed). In past I planted them just for the bees and hummers, altho I got a few pods that I let dry. I am hoping for something like a harvest this year.

Any words of wisdom on when to pick and prepare? Ways that you think they are better than others? I have heard pick them young and eat the pods of course. I have always liked to melt some butter with lemon juice and summer savory in it to pour over green beans. Any one else have favourite ways to prepare them?

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2001


Sharon, you are such a sweetie! I'd like to try and get over to see you when Ryan is at Ft. Knox (drop Sis off there and head over your direction) but you ought to see my work schedule for the next 8 weeks! :P Don't know why all the rest of these nurses think they need a vacation too! Can I look at your herb garden to get some ideas? I'm thinking about doing my next section of raised beds in a maze pattern, maybe for herbs.

Joy, the dahlias will be in fron of a concrete porch, with a southern exposure. Maybe if I mulch the heck out of them with some of that sawdust and manure from the salebarn, they might make it. If not, I've lost $4. Man, I hate to risk flowers, though.... I've never grown dahlias before, but WM had a bunch of them on closeout so I thought "What the heck!" I've always been a shrub person - those are a little harder to dig up and take with you when you move, or I'd have a bunch more rose-of-sharon, lilac, mock orange etc...than I do now!

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2001



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