Barb, I have been leery of growing beans to shell and dry. Please start a topic on the bean growth, harvest and dry/canning process. Please and thank you. I keep reading you can't can dried beans and I am quite confused as to why, because I can buy them canned and they are ever so much easier to use than dry beans. What is wrong with re-hydrating them, cooking them and canning them? So this past fall when I was making chili for my sister and me (to can) we added canned beans and it was beautiful. It turned out very nice. Also tell us how you did you pork and beans. Please, I am very interested to try it.
Thank You Barb! Much appreciation is given to you for this. I have never grown shelling bean, I don't know what to do with them.
Never grown shelling beans ? What about peas ? Like purple hull peas ? Not the little green english peas. Why not ?
Not sure what your question is but all peas should be able to be dried. Those I buy dried. I also have split pea and ham canned for fast meals.
I have never grown them because.....I just never have. Really, it is because I don't know anything about their growth habits, needs or harvest, not what to do with them when they are dry or how long do I let them dry before harvest...a million "don't knows" because I have not grown them myself nor has anyone else in my family, that I know of. So I am rather clueless about them. I hate to waste the time or space for a "I hope it grows" crop and then not know what to do with it if it does grow. I don't have the time or energy for a new crop in the summer to harvest. If I know I can leave them on the plant until after frost and shell them in late fall or early winter...then I am game to try them. Barb, do you ever can them fresh, not dried? Or is trying to shell them before they are dry not feasible?
I never used them until they were dried or almost all dried on in the garden. No, I have never used them until dried. I think the reason people don't grow then is because they used to be so cheap. Why grow it? They don't take so much space because they grow up. You just have to find the fence. Many of our members could come up with something cute for them to climb on. Bed springs or an umbrella would be cute. My bean supporter was something extra we had around the house.
Thanks for sharing your pics of the pantry barb the bread bins look great and i'm envious of the number of jars you have :-D your posts have really inspired me to can more this year rather than water bath...
Oh! You mean pressure can rather than water bath. Yes, It adds a whole lot more food variety that you can save, if you learn how to do it. Two other reasons to pressure can. Some "old ways of canning" are not as safe as previously thought done in a water bath. In other words, it's safer for your family, preserved at a higher temp. The second is, pressure canning is faster and easier.
[quote="waretrop" I think the reason people don't grow then is because they used to be so cheap. Why grow it? They don't take so much space because they grow up. You just have to find the fence. Many of our members could come up with something cute for them to climb on. Bed springs or an umbrella would be cute. My bean supporter was something extra we had around the house.[/quote] Nothing cute or fancy for me. Your fence there is sooooo practical. It looks to do the job just fine. I think I will try them in the spring, if I have enough fencing to do it, which I think I will if I plan for it.
It actually is beautiful when it grows in. I have done it on all the sides of the back garden and also the middle. It's 8 feet all and it even hangs over like an umbrella. I sort of toss them back up and over itself. I have looked all over for pictures of it grown in but probably just never got a shot of it.
Carolyn,, you will have to let me send you some "quik pik purple hull peas" this spring. Row type bush bean (or peas as we call them). Nothing special needed just plant, fertilize, water and pick them when hull turns deep purple. Eat fresh preferably but can be dried. Like a black eye pea but better to me. Long producing and around here, sell like hotcakes. We have a motorized pea sheller but we grow a lot of them !! Easily shelled fresh.
Mart, do you leave these peas/beans to dry in the pod and then pick them? I'm willing to try something new.
You can if you want to but since they keep producing if picked fresh, Thats what we do. All we dry is at the end of the season and they can dry on the plant. We just use them for seed but would be the same as buying dried black eyes in the store. I shell them fresh and freeze them. They will cook in about an hour fresh,, dry takes about the same as dried black eyes. Season with S&P and a slice or two of bacon. Make cornbread, slice a tomato and voila` dinner is ready.
mart do your peas last the full year? I typically get a single crop from mine then they die off.had better results this year with successive planting. But would be nice to have a pea that harvests year round
