SOYBEANS: GROW 'EM AND FREEZE 'EM

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Lois Pritzlaff tells us how she raises all the protein her family needs . . . in her garden!

We don't have cows, goats, chickens, or any other livestock ... but we do raise protein! Our crop of the valuable nutrient comes from our garden . . . in the form of green soybeans for eating and freezing.

However, before you go out and plant your own plot of meat substitute, you should be aware that there are two types of soybeans grown in this country: a field variety that's used for livestock fodder, oil, and industrial products . . . and vegetable soybeans, which are bred for flavor.

It's the latter type of legume, of course, that you'll want to grow for table use.

THE CHOICE GROWS

Years ago—when we planted our first healthful. moneysaving protein crop—the few catalogs that included the seed usually labeled soybeans as "novelty" vegetables. Nowadays, though, many folks have discovered (as the Chinese did over 2,000 years ago) the value of the nutritious bean as people-food, and most seed companies offer a number of varieties listed under "vegetable" or "edible" soybeans.

When you're ready to select the type of soy you want to plant, keep in mind that the crop will require an average of three months of warm weather to mature. Therefore. if you live in a cold climate, you should seek out an early-ripening breed can't, of course, know which soybean variety will grow best in your area, but—after experimenting with several kinds—I can say that the cultural tips in the seed catalogs have proved to be pretty accurate.

Having faced the fact that frosts sometimes appear sooner than expected on our Wisconsin farm, we started planting two or three soy varieties "just in case". So far, the precaution hasn't been a necessary one . . . as all our crops have ripened before winter set in. On the other hand, by growing a number of different types, we've been able to make sure that our beans don't all mature at the same time ... which allows us to put them up in smaller batches.

PLANT'EM PROPERLY

Plan to purchase one pound of seed for every 150 feet of garden row, and—at the same time—buy nitrogen-fixing bacteria (also called a "seed inoculant") to help them along. (Some inoculants will specify that they should be used for soybeans, while other mixtures are designed to aid the growth of any one of several kinds of legumes. The proper bacteria, when present in the soil, help the beans to absorb nitrogen from the air and store it in their root nodules ... a process that not only aids plant growth and bean production, but also improves the soil's fertility.)

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