Container Vegetables: Beans and Peas

In  an earlier post I talked about Sugar Snap Peas, which are quick growing, early harvest, and delicious right off the vine.  Because they're vining and tend to get several feet tall, you may not think they'd be very well suited to a container garden.  But check this out:

 You could create a trellis by wrapping some garden twine around your hanging basket.  If you have a railing around your balcony you could also plant them in a regular pot right next to it for them to climb on.  A tomato cage in the pot would work just fine, too.

Now let's talk beans:

There are about a zillion types, and it sure can get confusing trying to keep them all straight:  runner, pole, bush, snap, shell, dry, long, and so on.  I think you could probably grow any type you'd like with the right container and support, and I encourage experimentation!

For our purposes though, I'd like to talk about plain old ordinary green beans.  When buying seeds, make sure the package says "bush," which means the plants will be short and bushy.  ("Pole" beans need support, and will grow tall and thin.)  The picture above shows them growing in a long narrow container, and that's what I'd recommend for an abundant harvest.  Of course whatever you've got will work, and don't worry about giving each plant two feet of space, or whatever the crazy recommendation on the package will be.  Plant the seeds just 2-4 inches apart after danger of frost has passed.

The more you pick green beans, the more the plants will produce, so harvest as often as you can.  You should have more than you can eat from just a few plants, but once production slows, go ahead and pull out the plants, add a little fresh soil to your container, and plant a second crop for late summer harvest!

Saved Seed Inventory

I think I'm ready to place my order with Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, but first I had to look through my bag o' saved seeds from last year to make sure that my mental inventory list hadn't failed me.

In addition to various unlabeled peach pits, apple seeds, and onion bulbs, I discovered a good supply of

St. Valerie Carrot seeds.  These didn't do well at all in my garden, but I planted them in my mom's garden as well, and she had quite a harvest!  One of my plants went to seed, and I'm hoping they're viable, because these carrots were so good!  Crisp and sweet, good keepers, hopefully they'll do well for me this year, but I'll be sure to plant some more at my mom's, just in case.

I also found some pepper seeds saved from the GIANT sweet red peppers that I bought at the Farmer's Market.  I have no idea what variety they are, but I'm hoping to grow some of my own.  Plus I saved a bunch of

 

Buran Pepper seeds.  These never did turn very red in my garden - Not enough sun for them I suspect.  But they were pretty good even small and green, so I'm hoping for better luck this year.

For some reason I also decided to save 3-6 seeds from about five thousand other veggie varieties.  Maybe I should create a Memories Of Past Years Gardens garden?   I could throw all the seeds haphazardly in one small area and see what comes up...

Crispy, Classic, Incomparable!

This post won't be as exciting as some others - No veggies named after mythical creatures, no potentially valuable miracle seeds, nothing too exotic.  I wouldn't plant any garden without these, though!

The Sugar Snap Snow Pea is a no-brainer - You simply must plant it in your garden!  Here's why:  You plant the seed directly into the ground as early as you'd like, the shoots come up practically overnight, and the pods are ready to harvest before any of your other plants are even blossoming.  I never seem to get a very large harvest from my snow peas, but picking a handful and eating them right there in the garden is so rewarding!  They're crunchy, sweet, and delicious right off the vine, in salads, or gently sauteed in a stir fry if they last that long.

This is the Black Beauty Zucchini, a garden classic.  Jason loves it lightly oiled, seasoned, and grilled.  The squirrels prefer it right off the vine, about an inch long.  Sometimes they lose patience and just eat the flower.  (The flower is edible for humans, too!  Add it to your snow pea stir fry.)  These plants are pretty impressive.  Make sure you give them plenty of room to spread out, and cover up when you go out to harvest!  The zucchini is smooth and harmless, but the rest of the plant is covered in tiny, prickly little spikes.

You can grow the best tomatoes in the world, but you're wasting your time if you don't pair them up with a big fragrant handful of Genovese Basil.  This stuff will grow and grow with very little attention, and it is so delicious in salads and sauces!  I recommend eating Caprese salad until you explode, and then making what's left into a spicy pesto sauce.

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

A gardener has the right to change her mind!  No offense to Seed Savers, but it looks like Baker Creek is going to be a little more affordable this year.  I feel a bit of relief with every decision that gets made around here--  And with that in mind, let's talk BEANS!

Dragon Tongue!

I tried to order this one last year from Baker's Creek, but they ran out!  Hopefully this year it won't be quite as popular, but based on the reviews I imagine it'll be selling well again.  Dragon Tongue is a Dutch heirloom wax bean.

Saint-Esprit a Oeil Rouge!

Don't ask me how to pronounce this one.  The name means "Holy Spirit Red Eye," apparently because the red marking near the bean's eye resemble...  Well...  Use your imagination.  If my beans end up with the image of Jesus or the Virgin Mary on them and I can sell them on Ebay as "Miracle Beans," well then all the better.  If they don't make me rich, they'll at least make a good soup!

I suppose I'll also be adding on a plain old ordinary green bean, as they are Jason's favorite.

Blue Lake Bush Bean!

Two New Tomatoes

I'm wondering now what is an acceptable number of hours to put into seed selection?  Ten?  Twenty?  Four thousand nine hundred and seven?
The good news is, I have chosen two varieties of tomato seed.  The bad news is, I'm now questioning my decision to order from Seed Savers exclusively.  Baker Creek not only has online customer reviews for some products- which are very helpful- but also may be more affordable...
Both companies offer these two varieties of tomato, so I feel confident in publicly announcing at least this much:
(Drum roll?)
This summer, in addition to Green Grape, Cherokee Purple, and Gold Medal tomatoes, for which I have hopefully managed to save some viable seeds myself, I will be ordering

BLACK FROM TULA!

An indeterminate 80 day Russian Heirloom, Black From Tula has been described as having a rich, full, old fashioned, sweet and spicy flavor.  Excellent review here.  Available from both BCHS and SSE.  I can't wait to taste one!  And

NYAGOUS!

A funny name for a funny looking tomato, this one is also indeterminate 75 - 80 days, and also an heirloom from Russia.  The Nyagous has been described as sweet, meaty, rich, and very productive.  Sounds good to me!  Find it at BCHS or SSE.
I will now devote a few more hours (days?) to making the final decisions on other veggies, as well as doing the math in order to choose which supplier -  maybe both? 
All this hard work and still six months away from tasting one?!  *sigh*  I'd rather be weeding...

Seed Savers Exchange Catalog

Cherokee Purple Tomatoes

It's January in the heart of the Heartland--  Hardly a time when most people are thinking about gardening, but I've spent the past two weeks pouring over seed catalogs, and I'm so anxious that I can almost smell the dirt!
Last year I ordered seeds from Seed Savers Exchange as well as Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  This year I've decided to narrow it down to just one source in an effort to save money on shipping, and Seed Savers wins in large part due to their catalog's beautiful and thorough photography. 
It's so much fun trying to decide what to order...  at least at first.  Of course my ideas are much bigger than my garden plot as well as my budget, so narrow it down I must.
I'm especially anxious to try at least one new variety of purple tomato.  I grew Cherokee Purple tomatoes last year, and they were the ugliest, most delicious tomatoes I've ever had!  Unfortunately I got a pretty small yield (surely due in part to the overabundance of shade trees in my back yard), so I'm hoping that another purple variety will be a better producer for me.  (I'm also planning to get a garden plot through my park district--  More on that later.)  I did manage to save some of my own seeds, so hopefully they'll be viable and I'll have some more Cherokee Purple along with one or two new varieties.

While I'm naming names, I'll also recommend the Green Grape and Gold Medal varieties of tomato that I also grew last year for the first time.  The Green Grape were so good--  In side by side taste tests, my run-of-the-mill red cherry tomatoes couldn't come close.  The Gold Medal had a more mild flavor, but they were absolutely gorgeous!  
Well, back to the catalogs...
My next post will (hopefully) contain a list of seed semi-finalists!