Tom and I have differences of opinions regarding green beans. I prefer purple beans because they are easier to pick, and Tom prefers green ones because he thinks they taste better. I prefer very long poles for the beans that reach up to the sky, and Tom prefers poles where you can actually reach the beans to pick them. I prefer pole beans because they are easier to pick, and Tom prefers bush beans because he thinks they taste better (notice a theme?). So we have come to somewhat of a compromise. We plant both purple and green pole beans and green bush beans. And we use poles (from our bamboo patch) that range from 5 – 8 feet tall. I preferentially pick the pole beans, and he picks the bush beans.
The problem is that there are times when Tom is occupied for several days in a row and does not have time to pick his bush beans. I cannot stand to see food go to waste so I bend over pick the bush beans and mess up my back. So I came up with a bush bean picking device that helps a lot.
I do not have to bend over to pick the beans, and I am at bean level so it is easier to see them for picking. And we are going to have a lot of beans this year.
Trying to work smarter here at Schoonover Farm.
PS It has rained 2 inches here in roughly the last 2 days, per Grampa’s rain gauge. This is after only 0.25 inches here in all of July. We desperately need it for the wildfires on the other side of the mountains and here for our pastures.
Your green beans look beautiful. I tend to only grow bush beans, they come on all at once. Do you think you get more beans using pole types or bush beans?
Thanks! Probably we get more beans from the bush beans. But I still like the pole beans better 🙂
Reminds me of that old song – something about beans in your ears??? – We have so many beans the bean trellis was threatening to topple over! And Broccoli & cauliflower are also “coming out of our ears” I tried roasting some of the purple cauliflower last night – The Shepherd didn’t like it – too oily, I think.
Thanks Tina! I am not sure I know that song. We have WAY too many beans. One of our bamboo poles has already broke. We had a lot of raspberries this year. Just planted a few broccoli and no cauliflower. Tom is not a fan, and I can’t eat that much. Limited number of peas so far. The lettuce is now dwindling. We are getting quite a few zucchinis, not overwhelmed yet. It looks like we will have a lot of corn, squash ad potatoes. We have a lot of tomato plants so if blight does not get them we should have a bumper crop of them too.