Cool Beans!

This is the time of year that gardening is so rewarding.  The weather is still relatively cool.  It is not oppressively hot and humid yet.  The healthy green of the leaves is truly something to behold.  I stagger my planting of green beans to spread out the yield throughout the year after learning a technique from a good friend who used to go to church at our church prior to moving.  He told me that his Dad would plant snap beans staggered so that he had a green been harvest from spring through the fall.  Good idea!

As you can see there are some nice blooms on these Blue Lake Variety green beans.  I have some Contender variety planted as well, but the Blue Lake (named after the region in California where they were developed) beans are further along.

Pulling back the foliage from this neighboring plant, you can see beans of various sizes.  These green beans are prolific and require picking, once they start producing, just about every day so that you get them while they are still young and tender.

And here is the point where the dividends in the garden start paying off.  I pulled out some fresh-picked green beans and, it just so happens, the finest accompaniment to green beans were just harvested and ready.  I'm talking about new potatoes.  I just harvested these last week.  I pulled out the small ones - those a little smaller than a golf ball, to cook with the green beans.  

Fresh green beans, new potatoes, butter and a little salt.  You've got yourself a delicious side dish!

As they keep coming in, we'll eat some, give some away, and blanch and freeze the rest.  I'll also get another row planted in order to keep the bountiful green bean harvests coming in.