Beans

In the North bed of the garden we have 3 rows of pole beans. Pole beans like to climb (think Jack and the Bean stalk) the interesting thing about them is that the stalks are actually a little grabby (I think they have tiny hooks) that allow them to hook onto a pole and wrap around them. Ideally when you plant the beans you'll plant poles alongside them so they have something to climb, or you could also create a sort of Teepee around them, go here for more information. 


We didn't give the beans anything to climb when we planted them, but we did line the rows with poles to mark where they planted. So I just spent the last hour and a half stringing twine across to give them something to grow along. I'm hoping that this works, so far they're holding on just fine, but I won't know until tomorrow if the beans will actually grow along them of their own accord. I'll post pictures tomorrow to give examples (forgot my camera today). 


In the South bed of the garden I did a little bit of soil rehabilitation. Ideally soil is 40% sand, 40% silt, and 20% clay. A lot of the beds seem to be pretty sandy, given that they don't hold on to water very well at all, and the surface is left crusty and unfriendly to planted seedlings. Contrastingly, the soil over by the EcoHouse has been super compacted and has a higher percentage of clay (when I water the plants in the back yard the water tends to sit in large puddles for a while). I had a lot of soil left over from planting in the back yard, so I brought it over to the South bed and mixed it in (along with compost for organic matter) to the beds that were so hostile nothing planted had grown (and lived). I'm thinking I'll apply to the sustainability office for funds to plant new seedlings there in a couple of weeks. 


There are tests you can have done to test the quality of your soil. Overall, it should be fairly apparent given how your plants are growing and what happens when you water your soil. Soil compaction is also an issue! You don't want people walking on your beds! Aside from the fact that they can kill your plants, when people walk on the beds they compact the soil and make it hard for future plants to spread roots. I've had some problems with this over in the North bed, where there are painters working on the French House. Despite the chicken wire and the CLEAR indications that it is a vegetable garden, I found footprints in my tomato bed and a broken seedling! Ah! The best thing to do to avoid this is to make clear paths using dry leaves or wooden planks, and hope people are smart enough to pay attention to the signs. When all else fails, put up a sign with an explanation!


Yesterday my friend Nick and I endeavored to harvest some of the rhubarb over by the EcoHouse. We harvested about half the patch. I heard that the more you harvest it the more it grows, but just to be safe we left a significant amount. We didn't have enough to make a full pie (which we had hoped to do) but we chopped it up into little pieces, partially covered it with water, added a cup of sugar, and let it cook down to a jelly. We ate it over ice cream, yum!


The elderberries are starting to ripen so I can't wait for that next project! I've heard of some great ideas for what to do with them. I just have to beat out the birds!