Monday, August 28, 2006

caster rama



our caster bean plants have grown so much that they obscure most of our garden from this vantage. the bean arbor has started to produce beans again. we continually picked the meager harvest and bore beans in hopes that we'd have a second wind. we'd like to get several more good harvests out of the rattlesnake pole beans. they are tastier than any green bean i've ever had. we'll put them up in the pressure canner and relish in their savory flavor during mid winter.

we have a big row of red swiss chard that i'll attempt some method of extending into the colder months. it'll probably be some form of cold frame or hoop green house. we also have a few rows of beets (my personal favorite). i just came back from the feed-store with a large package of turnip seed. we will attempt to plant them very soon. when the current arugula bolts i'll seed in around the swiss chard in the coldframe/greenhouse--fresh greens well into the fall / early winter.

***** chicken massacre update *****

the wire cloth was effective in staving off the invaders--no more killed chickens. the live-trap on the other hand was tripped with no resident. i'll try that again tonight. there is a easy trip setting that i'll change to the harder setting.


the new puppy is great she is still very scared whenever anyone opens the door but is getting better. she does a few naughty things but we are working on them and she tries to please it's just we need to 'click' on our communication. the kids and tabitha really seem to like her. she tries to herd the chickens which i wish she wouldn't do but that is her nature being part shepard.

5 comments:

Abigail said...

The little dog with the giant ball pictures are adorable! I'm so glad she's working well for you guys.

Anonymous said...

We had great success with castor beans off our deck. They provided an effective privacy screen for most of the summer and fall. Of course we had to cut them down with a saw when they were finished.

squire said...

Thanks for metioning the castor beans. I haven't thought of them in years.

Danielle said...

rattlesnake green beans...can you explain why they taste better? I'm interested if they don't get a hard shell on them. Do they have to be picked young?

Omelay said...

tender even at the almost bore size. negligible string only in the largest of beans. so tender that we only snap one end leaving the pointy nub that is always tough in most other beans. very full flavor and generally very beautiful. we'll never grow any other kind of beans. the best thing is to go out in the morning, pick and eat a breakfast of raw beans--juicy, tasty and fulfilling.

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