Hello Broad Beans
This is the first year I have ever grown broad beans (aka fava beans). Back in Ohio, our summers got too warm too fast to grow these beauties, or so I’ve been told. I never even tried to grow them because I simply didn’t have enough space.
This spring I planted two varieties of favas and I just harvested the ‘Windsor’ beans earlier this week.
Favas are a lot of work, you have to shell them out of the this furry pods and then you have to blanch them and pop them out of yet another thick skin that covers the bean.
Will I be growing favas again next year? I think so, a small row produces enough for a few meals and that’s good for me. One of the reasons I garden is to be able to make my plate as varied as possible. Broad beans can be hard to come by at the grocery store and the farmers market.
Have you ever grown or eaten fava or broad beans?
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Stay On Top of It
Now that your 5×5 Challenge garden in growing like a champ, the weeds are probably growing as well. The key to keeping your gardening chores to a minimum is to weed often. If you pull any weeds you see when you’re checking on the garden, it is never a huge chore. Weeding will happen without you even noticing.
I’ve been pulling the weeds when they’re tiny, this is the best way. They don’t have big roots and don’t disturb the soil as much when you pull them. They’re also much easier to pull when they’re so small.
Mulching is also a great way to keep weeding chores to a minimum. A couple inches of mulch will help keep weed seeds from germinating and it helps the soil retain moisture. I wouldn’t use that brown bark stuff most people use on their flowerbeds, some shredded leaves or good compost will do. Spread an even layer around your plants, you can skip the lettuce patch and the scallions as they’re probably too close together and too small yet.
Any tips to stay on top of the weeds?
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Keet, Keet, Keet
It’s been a busy weekend as far as baby animals are concerned. First the ducklings hatched out late last week, then the guinea eggs started hatching too. Because of the location of the guinea nest we started taking the keets when we noticed them wandering around outside of the safe zone. A few we had to detangle from the chicken wire fence around the run.
The first one was found late one night when we arrived home. I heard it squeaking up by the coop. Upon further investigation I found it outside the run away from it’s nest. We grabbed it and put it in a brooder we had just in case. We’ve heard rumors about how terrible guineas are when it comes to mothering their young. The next day we noticed a few more and kept our eyes on them. One was found stuck inside a cinderblock and yet another one was found stuck in the fence. After this we took all the keets as we found them.
Yesterday, when the guineas were off the nest I checked and found two smothered keets in it and a few others milling around. We grabbed those and put them in the brooder. Then the guineas abandoned their nest, so I grabbed a few of the remaining eggs that I could tell were close to hatching. I put them under a heat lamp and covered them with a damp towel. Amazingly, as of writing this, two hatched out and a few more are starting to crack the shells.
These little guys are fighters that’s for sure. So far we have 12 keets, two of which are injured from being stuck in the fence. We think one has a broken leg and the other one we’re not sure. We’ll give them time and space to heal and see what happens.
Did anything exciting happen at your place this weekend?
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Cultivate Simple 37: What’s Next in the Garden
Today on Cultivate Simple we’re talking about fall/winter gardening. Now is the time to plant cold weather crops. It is worth a try.
Brian’s Geeky Corner
f.lux makes the color of your computer’s display adapt to the time of day, warm at night and like sunlight during the day.
Johnny’s Seed Fall/Winter Planting Calculator
Territorial Fall/Winter Planting Chart
Books of the Week
What’s your favorite cold weather vegetable?
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:21:18 — 56.5MB)
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Quote of the Day: The Garden Above
Gardens are rooted in the earth, but the sky beckons. To send plants climbing is to lift up the garden, to elevate it above the sprawl and damp. There the sun can coax forth the berry and beckon the rose to flower. In this process, we benefit: from an arbor’s shade, from a pergola’s shelter, from an increase in the garden’s bounty.
Linda Joan Smith (Smith & Hawken Garden Structures)
I am definitely thinking about the garden above here at Chiot’s Run. We could use a few arbors and pergolas to provide shade in the heat of the day. We’re thinking of placing a few on the house to provide some much needed cooling shade in the hot summer months.
I’ve been collecting images of trellises and arbors over on Pinterest, trying to figure out just what I want to do. I certainly know what kinds of vines I’ll be using, climbing hydrangea, sweet autumn clematis, and hops of course.
What’s your favorite garden climber?
