Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Harvesting Blue Lake Beans




I left my garden for a few days to visit the grandchildren and when I returned things were jumping.  The tomato plants have jumped 2 - 3 feet and lots of tomatoes are on the vines.  Oh boy! 

I'll be making a few loaves of zucchini bread this week-end out of today's harvest. 

I picked my first Sugar Baby today.  Since I'm a novice gardener, I guessed as to when it should be picked.  I used the thumping method and checked the color of the melon to determine it was time to take this baby into the house and give it its place in the fridge.   Supposedly, a sign of ripeness is when the melon turns a dark green and become somewhat dull looking.  It was there.  Another method was a hollow sound when you thump it.  It sounded hollow to me or maybe the sound that I heard was my empty stomach growling and me thinking about consuming this Sugar Baby.  Oh well, it's off the vine and I will be eating it real soon.  I only have two melons so far.  I hope I get a few more. 

My Blue Lake bush beans produced a nice little harvest.   The wax beans didn't do as well.  I'm hoping the pole beans produce a good crop.  I want to add a few gallons to the freezer.  I do believe that I will do another planting of the bush beans just to be sure that I will have enough.   I have an old wash tube that would be perfect for a new crop of beans.  I'll put it to use this week-end.  Need to get my beans into the fridge so they can stay fresh until I can get them blanched and into the freezer in the morning.  How's your garden growing and what are you harvesting?  Leave me a comment, I'll pay you a visit to see what's happening in your garden. 

8 comments:

  1. I'm harvesting beans and squash, just like you! I'm not lucky enough to have a melon to go with them though. Enjoy your Sugar Baby!

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  2. Hope your melon is ready. One reason I like cantaloupe is the ones I grow slip from the stem when ripe. No guessing about when they are ready. Enjoy!

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  3. I'm trying wax beans for the first time. They are just starting to flower now. And I like Jade Bush beans best for my green beans. If you are going to try another planting and haven't purchased seeds yet, try the Jade. They are so yummy and I bottled at least 24 quarts last year from 75 feet thinned to 3 inches apart.

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  4. I haven't purchased the seed yet, I'll try the Jade. I would love to put up a few quarts and give a few quarts to my daughter, sister and mother. Greenbeans and corn are a favorite in house, so they're expected at family gatherings. I'll let you know how it goes.

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  5. Your harvest is beautiful!!!! I'm so happy for you! Was that a watermelon you harvested? The other way (other than thumping) to know that a watermelon is ready is to check the underside. If there's a nice big yellow spot on the part of the melon that was sitting on the ground, it's ready!

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    1. The next time I will look for the yellow spot. Thanks for the advice, I know you're an expert on growing watermelons?

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  6. I wouldn't say an expert. This will only be my second year of being successful...if I'm successful. After three weeks of not being in the garden...mine suffered a bit. We'll see if I get any melons.

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  7. " Ooo Sugar Babies! I can't wait to try one of those in my future garden. I bet it will be very rewarding once you taste it... Yay! Good for you! Thanks for stopping by.

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