The beans have been amazing this year!


We started with a winter planting of broad beans we had great success. After the frosts finished it was only a matter of weeks before we were harvesting broad beans! Having never eaten broad beans it was exciting, yet we didn't quite know what to make with them. Searching recipes we found and tried a few, but gave away a lot of beans too. I discovered a very tasty broad bean dip that I'll be growing them again this year for. I also discovered that when shelled, cooked and shelled again they can be frozen and later added to a recipe when needed. Time consuming initially but a good way to deal with the excess.



After a slow start in Spring the runner beans really took off. We have been continually harvesting beans for months now - green beans, purple beans, bortolli beans and the February planted butter beans are full of flowers. I judged my succession planting beautifully and had cross over harvesting of a week or so between different crops.

But now comes the time when my largest planting of Purple King beans have given me a big container of dried beans for planting next year and the leaves are dying off. The landscape of my garden is changing once again and I feel myself a little saddened by the change. Those plants provided us with up to 1kg of beans a day and were often played in by my littlies, snacking as they played.




We still have more beans producing, which will continue to be eaten raw (possibly while still attached to the plant) until the frosts hit. I was wondering yesterday what our children will do once bean season is over. "Broccoli season" was my husband's response. How could I forget broccoli season and the sneaky eating of broccoli whilst still growing... I love it!

PJG