Sprouting Patio Garden

 We were so happy looking at the pictures our friends posted of their gardens that we dug into the seed box and planted a few of our own.

Several of our friends seem to have gotten the gardening bug and thus have peppers, herbs, tomatoes, etc. growing in abundance.  Some unfortunately have gotten lost along the way but for the most part it seems to be a nice gardening year.

One friend offered us seeds to plant but we already have so many it would have been a waste of seeds.  Others need them more than we do so we just planted what we had.

 The pictures shown are some beans, since they grow so fast and we got a pretty late start on the growing season.  We also planted some herbs, carrots, and radishes.  The smaller radishes should grow quicker and be a nice addition to salads.

Depending on what actually grows we might also plant some lettuce or other herbs, space allowing.

If I had more room I'd like to grow beets but they require more space and depth than I can give them at the moment.

 These planter boxes are also not quite what I wanted but the'll have to do for the moment.  What I was looking for was what I would describe as saddle bag pots for the railing of the patio. I've also looked for a bracket that might fit on top of the railing for pot support with no success.  If anyone knows where I could get such things, feel free to leave it on the comments and I'll go look.

In the mean time these boxes are sitting on the ground and I'm just hoping the rabbits don't come and eat what we've planted.

As you can see there are only a few carrot sprouts but these seeds are over 6 years old.  I was actually surprised how well these seeds are doing.  It's only been a few days since we planted them and already we're getting exciting results.

So if you're wondering if you should toss those seeds just try them first and if they don't sprout then you've only lost a little time.  There's still plenty of time in the growing year to plant more seeds.  Just keep them watered and the weeds out and you should be doing just fine.

Dried Green Beans

I know I like green beans and I know I like dried beans.  But I never thought to see if I like dried green bean seeds, which are of course dried beans.

It takes longer to get them and you can get dried beans so cheaply in the store so It's probably why I never though to grow my own.  Finding references to doing so was also not easy to come by but there are some.

So instead of taking the green beans and eating the young pods, I'm going to be patient and wait for these guys to mature and make beans.  Not sure yet if I want to make a bean soup or possibly try to do a white chili. One of our friends said they don't think they've ever had white pepper, although I'm sure they probably just didn't notice there was pepper in the food since it doesn't give it that distinct peppered look, for instance in alfredo sauce.

Any way you look at it though I was going to make sure some of them dried anyway so in the end I'll just see how many beans it makes and make sure to save enough for later planting and eat the rest.

So far it seems like you don't have to soak the beans for very long if you have to soak them at all and the flavor is supposed to be even better since they haven't really fully dried.  Hopefully I'll get a good recipe I can share later.

Baby Green Bean

This cute little green bean is just the start of my green bean harvest this year.  Well maybe not quite what you'd be able to call a harvest but it is at least a bean.  I hand pollinated this flower when it was just opening and apparently I did a half way ok job doing it.

There is another smaller one but it was a lot harder to take a picture of so this is the one I got.

There are a lot of flowers at the moment though so I expect there to be a lot more beans as well. hand pollinating is one way to do this.  Not sure if the gnats will do anything with the flowers or not but I really doubt it.

I was looking at the vanilla orchids as well today and I believe they are quite a bit larger than when I got them.  I still haven't taken the time to get them something big enough but light weight enough for them to climb up.  That branch is still leaning against the wall but it really is too heavy to work well at the moment.  I have to cut it up or maybe even split it so that it can be used and not be unwieldy if it needs moving.

Bean leaves

Plant identification by leaf is a common practice.  There are websites out there (usually by geography) that can help identify a plant by shape, type, texture, and such of a leaf, like this one at Texas A&M.  I guess I never paid a lot of attention to the leaves of a bean plant before but the initial leaves just didn't look like a bean plant to me.

It so happens that these are primary leaves that get the plant growing quickly and don't match the rest of the leaves it will produce throughout the rest of the growing cycle.

I think I already see some leaves forming at the base of some of the leaf branches.  It won't be long before they open and start to make beans.  One of my favorite things about bean plants is that they grow so fast and you can see results without waiting too long.  The cacao, just visible on the right, takes a minimum of 4 years for fruit to form but more likely 7-8 years in these less than ideal conditions.  They are still putting out leaves though.

Cacao Getting a Little Sun

Temperatures here reached 80° today.  Not shabby for an early February day.  Perfect for getting these guys out for some sum. Usually they prefer a more shaded area but the angle of the sun in February isn't too bad.  The sun being lower in the sky will hopefully keep the plants from getting too affected by the sun's intensity, while at the same time getting some much needed light during winter months.

The sunlight finally came around the building.  It had been in the shade most of the day.  The bean plants are loving the sunlight as well.  They've really perked up and have grown noticeably since this morning.

Tomorrow is also supposed to be nice but overcast.  The temperatures should still be warm enough for a day out though.  Then it's back inside until April unless we get any more of these unseasonably nice days.

Green Beans

Although not a really significant source of nitrogen beans can still help other plants to grow and hopefully make some tasty beans in the process.

A study by Roger Luiz Da Silva Almeida et. al. published in March 4, 2012 in the Iranica Journal of Energy & Environment concluded "The nitrogen level used in this study positively influenced the plant growth."  So, it can't hurt.

The seeds planted were about 4 years old and every one of them sprouted. I guess I kept them well. They've been in the fridge in sealed plastic bags the entire time (except when we were moving).

Next week there's supposed to be a nice warm day or two that I can use to put these guys outside for a bit of fresh sun.  February isn't going to be too high in the sky so I'm not too worried about scorching the leaves.  The beans really do prefer a bit of sun though and would be good for them.

To be sure I've also got plant food for them, you can't rely entirely on beans you know.

Tomatoes a Plenty

Some of us have dared to plant a garden again this year even if their past attempts have gone awry.  If you are among them then you are probably pretty happy with the way the weather has cooperated so far.  Your tomatoe plants will probably look full and with quite a bit of fruit on them.
If you haven'd done so already it's not too late. You can still plant squash and beans.  Carrot is also one of those things you can plant nearly year round and expect some harvest or another.  So don't worry and get out your gardening gloves and trowel and go plant something.

If nothing else there should be a wide assortment of already started plants that will give you a head start in getting your garden looking great.

Spring Sprouts

We planted the back beds almost two weeks ago and already have quite a bit coming up.  Fortunately it rained while we were out of town and kept everything moist.
The chicken wire has effectively kept the cats out of the dirt.  They really don't like leaving things on top of the ground so when they realized they couldn't bury their oh so unwanted gifts they stopped leaving them.  The bean sprout is one of the more obvious ones since you can see the bean split on the plant.

The larger green sprouts are the beets and the smaller ones are the radishes.  The spiky sandy shoots are from the potatoes but won't make anything edible for a while whereas the beets and radishes could be eaten rather soon.
There are also some beets on the side of the house that are further along and could be used in a salad or possibly pulled and cooked.