Yesterday I noticed a bunch of the Kentucky pole beans I had planted were totally dried out so I went ahead and picked them to bring inside to shell.
Have you ever planted beans before with the intention of drying them?
I wasn’t planning on drying beans this year but the HH forgot to pick them when they were nice and green and well, now we’ll have enough beans to toss in a few pots of soup this winter.
I also picked a few mini pumpkins yesterday and we still have some beets in the ground and 3 butternut squash on the vines but besides that, gardening season is pretty much over at our place.
What’s it like at YOUR place? Are you still harvesting vegetables from your garden? Curious minds want to know.
I still can’t believe it’s October already!!! Can you?
~Mavis
Tamara says
Still getting green bell peppers and jalapeños, although they are not getting as large as they had been. Marigolds and nasturtiums are going strong. So is the coleus.
Mavis Butterfield says
I noticed someone selling jalapeños in their front yard the other day. They were beautiful! Glad you still have some.
Christa H. says
Lots of stuff still coming from the garden- wax/purple hull/and regular green beans, tons of different hot peppers, tomatoes, grapes, persimmons, pears, swiss chard, cucamelons, cucumbers, sweet potato, gold potatoes, okra, cantaloupe, butternuts, winged beans, snake beans, luffa, maypops, a few lingering figs, and I’m sure some items I can’t remember.
I have been processing like crazy lately.
Mona R McGinnis says
Garden season is definitely over here in NE Alberta. It was a poor gardening year w/ cold temps & not enough rain at the start of the season. The end results were poor. I would starve to death if I had to rely on the output. No quarts of beans or tomatoes, bags of carrots. There were 2-3 potatoes in each hill. So sad. A friend gifted me w/ tomatoes yesterday so I’ll put up some salsa. There hasn’t been a hard frost so there are still some geraniums, petunias, rudbeckia, castor bean plants on show.
Julie V says
I still have fall turnips growing, a few winter squash, radishes, horseradish, eggplant, and mustard greens. And herbs. Fall raspberry harvest continues until frost. I’m working on garden cleanup for most of the garden though. I’m Zone 5b. I planted beans from a bag of soup beans I purchased in spring and have harvested those dry beans. It takes up a lot of space for a small return compared to other vegetables I can grow in the space so not sure if I want to commit the space again.
Susan Williams says
I still have tomatoes ripening, everbearing raspberries, mountain huckleberries and 2 spaghetti squash still on the vine ripening.
Sue R. says
I have planted beans specifically for drying. I planted Old Mother Stallard beans which are a beautiful purple and white bean when dried and delicious when cooked (though they are brown when cooked). I had never done it before last year and from one long row I ended up with 25 pounds! I made a bag from sturdy cloth and banged it down on the porch floor a few times to shell them. Lots of fun and easy for a small amount. Here in Willamette Valley of Oregon we still have tomatoes, beans, zucchini, peppers, new lettuce crop, fall squashes and lots of apples. Harvest season winding down but not over.
Peg says
I threw in the towel yesterday and picked the one tomato plant we had. Usually one is more than enough as tomatoes tend to love the location I plant them, but 3 serious hail storms, 1 just 2 days after it was planted, sent it into a confused state for the rest of the summer. My few onions were harvested a few weeks ago and are drying in the basement. It was such a disappointing growing season that I’ve decided to take next summer off, maybe permanently.
Julie says
My mother who is from Eastern Kentucky used to have us string up the beans with a needle and thread after trimming the strings off and hang them up in our windows until they were dried out. We would snip them off the string and store in a paper bag in the freezer and then in the winter she would cook the best beans with pork salt. We called them fodder beans, but I think most people call them leather britches.
This is an old-fashioned way of preserving beans and this is a wonderful memory from my childhood. Not the healthiest, but a treat that we loved.
Cindy Brick says
Everything’s green (barely) — but nothing’s really growing, except for a bean or two. We didn’t get much this year, anyways — a few handfuls of beans and mini zukes. ONE tomato ripened — the rest were picked green. Lots of greens earlier…and starting to come back now.
Then again, we’re gardening at 8600 ft here in Colorado.
I felt so jealous about those beautiful pole bean plants…
We’ve had a touch of frost, but nights are steadily cooler. It won’t be much longer now.
Jules says
We dry some beans each year to plant in the next year’s garden.
Here in Oregon we’re still harvesting tomatoes (although after today’s downpour they’re probably all split) zucchini, corn, squash, carrots and potatoes. There might be other items in the family garden but those are the ones I eat.
Dot says
Still have cucumbers. Still waiting on the sweet orange and red peppers. The two plants I have look great only little peppers on them. Hope the hurry up and grow before it freezes.
Heather in Nevada says
Still getting zucchini, cherry tomatoes and big tomatoes. We also have kale and a few green bell peppers.
Susan says
We still have lots of kale and some rhutabagas to harvest in the garden. And a little bit of broccolini
Hubby cleaned out the tomato plants and cauliflower plants
September was a daily job of processing everything. Especially tomatoes!
Even though we plant less each year, we seem to get the same amount of tomatoes…hundreds o pounds!
I was happy with our beet harvest. I pickled 15 pints, which was 2 rows of beets.
Froze all the corn….off the cob. I freeze in 2 cup increments and got 16 packages. Ate some fresh and gave some away
Squash didnt do well this year. Only got 4 zucchini (enough for Minestrone soup for the freezer) and a couple of Delicato. I planted quite a few differnt squashes….and pumpkins and I dont know if the crows plucked out the seeds or what….
All in all a successful garden. Grateful for all we did get
PSUCHIC06 says
Is it wrong… I am already (in my head) plotting what to start in February… I do love fall though. It smells so good… I dont have to be over hot or cold (or use either). Just gorgeous, enjoyable weather!
Kimberly O'Donoghue says
I have a bunch of beans that I almost pulled today to send to the compost pile. Imagine, I never knew you could do this! Thank you! Does it matter what kind of bean. I have what I think is like an Italian yellow bean that my mother’s friend from Poland gives me every year. They’re delightful
Melissa says
We’re harvesting pumpkins. The Lazy Wife greasy pole beans, black eyed peas, Fortex green beans and tomatoes are all done.
Donna says
I loved reading all the comments! Our days are still in the 90’s and nights in the low 70’s- high 60’s here in mid-eastern MO. It doesn’t feel like fall. Our tomatoes and peppers are still going crazy. Beans and potatoes never took off this year.
Betsy says
I usually save about 50 seeds from each variety I plant for next year’s garden and throw the rest in a jar to cook later. I do grow one variety that is just for drying (Good Mother Stallard), mostly because they are pretty : ) I still have beans, okra, peppers and lots of tomatoes. I also have my first pawpaws this year, so they have been a learning experience.
Heather says
Still harvesting tomatoes, jalapeños, tons of Swiss Chard, garlic and herbs here in Northern Kentucky. My fall crop of bok choy is cruising along and should be ready by the end of October. Everything else is finished though and plots are cleaned up.
Vy in Seattle says
I just planted a bunch of fall stuff – cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, radishes, peas, carrots, parsnip, cilantro. Still getting tomatillos off the two plants that went insane this year. Also I just watched a video where someone put a bunch of dried bean pods in a pillowcase and whacked it around a bit, all the beans fell out easy peasy. I’m going to try that next time I do beans.
Vy in Seattle says
Oh and leeks and onions 🙂