Harvesting the Beans

This week I harvested the beans, which was a pretty satisfying experience. I haven't mentioned that there are three rows of beanstalks: two rows of borlotti beans (aka cranberry beans, notable for the bright majenta streaks on the pods and the beans) and one row of a "mystery" bean (grown from some beans I found in the garage). I took the borlotti beans off the stalks on Thursday. The two rows yielded 478 pods (roughly), and with each pod averaging three beans, that's over 1400 beans! I won't be eating all those in a hurry, so after letting the pods dry out I'll remove the beans from the pods (technical term: shucking) and put them in the freezer. The single row of "mystery" beanstalks (I'll let you know what they are when I find out) yielded about 171 pods, and assuming an average of six beans per pod that's just over 1000 beans. Again, after shucking I'll freeze them.

As a result of the harvesting this week's photo of the beanstalks looks pretty sad. Apparently beans can reflower after harvesting, but I think the short burst of hot weather towards the end of the week has almost dried the poor plants out. I have more than enough beans anyway, so at some stage I will pull out the plants and dismantle the trellises. And there won't be much point taking any further photos of the beanstalks. But I have included closeup photos of some of the beanstalks just before harvesting.

The tomatoes continue to grow. One of the plants must be on steroids because it's almost overflowing with fruit. I'm worried the branches won't be able to support the fruit. The rest of the plants are also making steady progress.

To view the latest photos, click on the links below:
The tomatoes (week 13)
A tomato plant with some fruit (week 13)
The beans (week 11 - post harvest)
Borlotti bean pods growing (week 11 - pre harvest)
Harvested borlotti beans (in pods)
"Mystery" bean pods growing (week 11 - pre harvest)
Harvested "mystery" beans (in pods)
The aubergines and capsicums (week 7 after transplanting)
The basil seedlings (week 6 after transplanting)