Welcome back to Reads Allotment Retreat. During a recent visit to the plot, one of my fellow plotholders was taking down her bean plants / canes as she tidied up for the winter. I was amazed and surprised to see the old plants going straight to the compost heap, complete with a bounty of pods still attached. I enquired as to whether i could pick some pods to dry the seeds for next year, and was greeted with the comment "do people really do that ?". Erm, well yes! The lady in question has had a bumper crop this year, and as such I expect the seed will be good too. I didn't hang around long enough to ask what variety they were, I merely collected enough for me - and maybe some to share, and was on my way.To me, this is part of what allotmenteering is all about.
Back soon folks,
TTFN.
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3 comments:
I always thought to dry beans for planting they had to stay attached to the plant and dry out??? That's how I was taught and do it....at least if we don't eat them all!!
Hi Tanya,
Whilst i understand the reasoning, I can tell you we've always used this method. I can remember at an early age watching my grandfather do the same. The "Reads" collection of blogs are all in memory of my grandad - I've used his gardening methods throughout my growing experiences and have never failed to get good results - hence I use this method, and freely recommend it to others. At the end of the day, I guess there's no right and wrong - just what works for you.
Have fun
My Mum dries some beans for planting too..
Not sure if she only uses dried or also from green pods.. (need to ask her..)
It's true that the older generations are a wonderful source of ideas and experience!
You're lucky to have had your Grandpa! (My Grandpas didn't garden much, the women of the family usually did - they were awesome anyway!)
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