SOYBEANS: GROW 'EM AND FREEZE 'EM

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

In order to get an early start on your crop, sow the seed as soon after the last expected frost as you can. (Soybeans are somewhat hardier than snap beans, so we usually plant them a week earlier than the more common crop.)

And, although the nutrient-packed vegetables will grow in any ordinary nonacid soil, the plot should be thoroughly cultivated. If the ground is already well-nourished, don't fertilize it further, because too many nutrients can actually retard the growth of soybeans. If, however. the area hasn't been enriched in the past, the addition of such organic matter as well-rotted manure or compost will improve the yield.

Just before planting, dampen the bean seeds with water and mix in the nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Then place the seeds 1-1/2 inches deep in rows two feet apart, and thin the seedlings—which will grow very much like bush snap beans—to four inches apart.

RABBITS AND WEEDS

Although we've never had a crop failure that was due to our choice of variety, we have learned a couple of lessons the hard way!

For example, we discovered that this otherwise remarkably pest-free vegetation does have some mortal foes: rabbits! The first time we grew soybeans, the ravenous little beasts ate the emerging crop before we even realized what was happening! Now, we simply put up a temporary fence around the bean patch before the plants sprout, as a routine part of our protein-growing procedure.

We learned our second lesson one spring when we went out of town just as the small plants were coming up. Upon returning, we saw that weeds had just about choked out our garden, and only a few bean plants remained.

Be sure, therefore, to keep the young soybeans weed-free, at least until they're big enough to stand on their own and shade out the competition. From then on, they'll grow quite nicely with very little attention from you.

PUTTIN' 'EM AWAY

If you plan to use the soybeans green and freeze them, as we do, they'll be ready to harvest when the pods become plump in late summer. Don't put off the pickin' and processin' task, though, because the pods and plants turn from bright green to yellow in only a few days. Once that "change" occurs, your beans will be too mature to freeze.

In my opinion, the easiest way to pick the pods is simply to pull the plants up or cut them off with pruning shears at ground level, depending on how easy it is (or isn't) to get the roots out of your soil. Then you and your family (or whoever else you enlist to help) can pick a comfortable spot to do the pod pluckin'.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print