The rains rolled through the area the other day and brought much needed refreshment. We were thankful for the good soaking. Well, except for the part about having no electricity in the barn. We don't have electricity run out to the barn, so we achieve lighting by using extension cords. When it rains the GFCI outlets disconnect the circuit when it detects moisture. So at 5:30 am, we tried milking using a battery powered lantern until the battery went out and then used a 'wind-up' flashlight to finish the morning milking. What an adventure!
After the rain passed, I figured that I would check out the bean crop. We have a row of Dragon Tongue Beans planted that were blooming like crazy and I figured it was about time to pick some. Nothing like some fresh cooked beans for supper!
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| Leaves weighted down by the rain |
Well, looky here! The little plants are loaded up. I rounded up my bean pickin' crew and we got busy filling up a colander of fresh picked Dragon Tongue Beans.
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| Nice! |
The little plants were full of mature pods, pods still growing and additional blooms meaning more on the way. I think the rainfall really gave them the boost to get them going. The hay that I mulched around the plants kept the pods from touching the ground and beginning to rot. When bringing them inside, however, I noticed a lot of slugs on the beans and I wondered if I wasn't trading one problem (rotting) for another (slugs). But slugs quickly wash off, whereas rot does not, so all is good.
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| Hay-mulched Dragon Tongue Beans |
Once they were washed up, we snipped off the ends and put them in a pile for cooking.
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| Snapping off the ends |
Here is the nice pile of beans ready for cooking.
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| Grab some Butter & Fire up the stove, Momma! |
Dragon Tongue Beans are a Dutch heirloom bean. They are about seven inches long and are yellow with purple streaks. It is a pretty cool looking bean. They are very tender and taste great and the best part is, they are string-less. I recommend these beans as they are easy to grow, a big producer and will be a big hit on your supper table. I have no idea why they are called dragon tongue beans. I would guess someone with an active imagination thought that dragons would have purple-striped, yellow tongues? The advantage is that you'd probably have more success getting a child to try Dragon Tongue Beans than Brussels Sprouts, don't you think? Marketing is EVERYTHING!
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| Beautiful Beans |
These beans will continue to grow with the mild temperatures and soaking rain and hopefully we'll have plenty to eat, blanch and freeze and can. I plan on saving a bunch of seed for next year as well. Once I dig up our potatoes, I'll put in a few more rows of beans and keep them growing throughout the season. Fresh beans and new potatoes go together like rice & gravy or like chocolate and peanut butter.
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| Dragon Tongue Beans |
One unfortunate thing about Dragon Tongue Beans that I need to mention is that when you cook them, they lose their beautiful purple stripes. They just fade away. Fortunately the taste doesn't, though.
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