ABOUT SHELL BEANS

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

Red kidney beans, which require 100 days to mature, are the most popular of dry beans, probably because they're the easiest to grow. Their red color and hearty flavor give life to soups, stews, chilies, and salads.

Scarlet runner beans, which take 70 days to mature, are among my favorites. This plant is a beautiful climbing ornamental with scarlet flowers, and it produces black- and red-speckled seeds that can be enjoyed fresh or dried. Also, the rough-looking green pods can be eaten when young.

Soldier beans, whose white, oval-shaped seeds make for a great baked dish, are well suited to cool, dry climates. Keep in mind that the vinelike plants need plenty of space to sprawl and 85 days to mature.

Soybeans, which are extremely high in protein and calcium, have-in one form or another-become a staple of the vegetarian diet. Though they lack one amino acid, methionine, to make them a complete protein, they are rich in lecithin, an emulsifier that breaks up large fatty molecules into smaller ones and is thought to help control cholesterol levels. Although soybeans were once grown in the U.S. primarily for fodder and as a green-manure crop, they now have wide commercial use in the production of soy milk, oil, flour, tempeh, tofu, and meat substitutes and extenders. In recent years, new garden varieties have been developed that are delicious fresh or dried (try Fiskeby V, Prize, or Okuhara). The bush-type plants are tolerant of cool spring weather but do require a three-month growing season.

The more plump pods you pick, the more abundantly the vines will yield

How to Grow

With the exception of favas, which can and should be planted as soon as the soil can be worked, shell beans need warm soil and a growing season with average temperatures ranging from the 70s to the 80s. Regardless of variety, beans need a well-drained soil that's rich in organic matter and has a pH between 6.0 and 7.5. Work in garden lime if the plot is too acid, and, if needed, add phosphorus by broadcasting 10 pounds of finely ground phosphate rock per 100 square feet, and add potassium in the form of granite dust or hardwood ashes (again, about 10 pounds to 100 square feet). Since legumes fix their own nitrogen from the air, don't fertilize heavily, or you'll get lush leaves but few beans. Lighten heavy clay with compost and sand so seedlings can push through the soil.

If beans are planted in a plot where they haven't been grown before, it's a good idea to inoculate the seeds with a bacterial inoculant powder, but don't soak or presprout them before planting, because they're susceptible to rot. For this reason, too, bean seeds (particularly favas, which are the largest of all vegetable seeds) aren't well suited to soggy soil.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print