Eugene neighborhood getting a community garden

Here's some great news about a new, community garden in Eugene, Oregon (about 30 miles from the Sharing Gardens). What makes their model unique is that, instead of separate plots, everyone gardens together (like we do). Also, the fruits and vegetables will be shared through a community fridge in the neighborhood.

They are also growing medicinal herbs to be distributed through Black Thistle Street Aid and Herbalists Without Borders, which provide plant-based medicine for those who seek it.

To learn more about this project, or to get involved, here's the full article about it:

LINK 

Grow Your Own Protein - Scarlet Runner Beans

by Chris Burns

Just like snow flakes, you'll never find two that look exactly alike,  attesting to Nature's infinite variety of expression!

Have you ever seen these beautiful beans for sale at any market?  Would you even know what they were if I didn't tell you?  Don't they look like some kind of 'Magic Bean' that Jack of 'The Beanstalk' fame might have planted?  If you haven't guessed by now, I'll tell you. They're Scarlet Runner Beans and they're called that for two good reasons.  One, they have the most intensely scarlet red flowers, and Two, they 'run' up any pole, tree, fence or trellis that happens to be close to where they are growing.  If you've never grown them then maybe it's time to consider giving them a place in your garden.

I've grown them many times before, but up until recently I always considered them to be strictly 'ornamental'.  Don't know why!  Perhaps it's because they were described that way in the catalog from which I ordered my first seeds.  As you can see in the pictures posted with this article, they add exquisite beauty to any garden patch. It wasn't until 2011 that I sampled them as cooked, dried beans and discovered their beauty is only rivaled by their delicious flavor!

Scarlet Runners vining up the bamboo trellis. We grew a 70-foot row last year and are doubling it in the 2013 season.

These beauties grow steadily to a dramatic height of 10-12 feet (or more) and need a sturdy trellis of some sort to support the weight of their generous profusion of bean pods (we used bamboo poles tied to a wire pulled taught between t-posts). For those who enjoy attracting pollinators to your garden, you'll likely find (as we did) that the flowers regularly attract hummingbirds and many beneficial insects. (If you have cats, best not to grow the runners as we've heard sad tales of hummingbirds being caught and killed by those furry, domestic predators).

Bean-trellis made with bamboo poles wired to a cable.

Scarlet Runner Beans will grow in a greenhouse too. Just be sure to leave enough vents open to allow pollinators to come and go.

Plant beans 4"-6" apart and 1"- deep. Soil can be course and should stay moist but not too wet as seeds germinate. Often we will pre-sprout the seeds by keeping them between wet towels for several days till they germinate. Be very careful when planting as the sprouts are fragile.

The pods are deliciously sweet when they are young and tender (about 3-4 inches long).  So sweet, in fact that it was the first thing our two teen-age garden-helpers would seek out and munch on whenever they came to the gardens.

Bean pod-loving teens!

If it's mainly green beans that you're looking for though, it's probably best to grow another variety like 'Blue Lake' or 'Contender' which provide you with more of a volume at each picking.  These Scarlet Runners tend to produce pods steadily over a longer season but they become tough and stringy if they aren't picked on the small side.  The reason they probably aren't grown commercially for dried beans is that they must be hand-picked. At the Sharing Gardens we've turned this limitation into an asset as the weekly bean-picking was a task that folks with back and knee-issues could accomplish easily standing up. After a few days laid out on screens in the greenhouse the husks were dry enough to split open easily by hand. This was a task that many volunteers (share-givers), who weren't able to do more strenuous tasks, found fun and relaxing; it also provided an opportunity to sit in the shade and chat with new found friends.

Pods, any bigger than this and they're too tough to eat green.

If it's dried beans you want, don't pick the pods until they are evenly tan and dry. If picked too green, beans won't store well, nor will they be viable for planting next year's crop. Once the frost hits, beans will no longer ripen much more. Pull up the whole vine and let the beans finish ripening in a green-house or warm, dry place before picking them off the vines. When they are as dry as they're going to get, shell these partially ripe beans and use them first as they won't store as well as fully cured beans.

These beautiful beans are rather large --about the size of a fat Lima bean-- and therefore yield enough to make a pot of soup-beans in a short time. If you're serious about growing your own protein-source, Scarlet Runners make an excellent choice.

Harvest beans once their pods are tan and dry. OSU-students shelling Scarlet Runner Beans.

Shelling beans from their pods is a fun activity for all! Jim and Adri shelling kidney beans.

But the best kept secret of all is just how delicious the dried beans are. They have a mild flavor and, unlike Fava beans, their skin is thin (not even noticeable) and they have a velvety texture.

A bamboo tipi provides a trellis for beans and beautifully frames our garden helpers.

Recipe: To cook these beans for eating, soak them over night just like you would any other, with about 1/3 beans to 2/3 water in a stainless or cast iron pot.  Pour off the water the next day; rinse the beans with fresh water and put them back in the pot. Add fresh water until the level is about 2-3 inches over the beans.  Don't add any salt because it won't allow the beans to absorb the water as they cook and they'll never soften.  I like to cook them on the woodstove in the winter.   These beans stay very firm when they're finished cooking but can be easily mashed and used as refries, or made into a hearty chile with tomatoes, onions, peppers and Mexican spices.  I cook up a large pot at a time and, once rinsed and cooled, I pack them into smaller zip-lock bags which I stack in the freezer to add to stir-fried kale and leeks with potatoes all winter long. Instant dinner!

Be creative! Sometimes just a plain ole' bowl of beans with olive oil, soy sauce, finely chopped onions and grated cheese is all you need to get you in the mood to go outside and brave the winter elements.

Such beauty!

Anyway, if you want to enjoy these wonderful and versatile garden gems, the time to plant is coming up soon! (late May or first week of June in our region)  If any of our local readers need seed  please let us know and we'll get you started, and you can save your own for next year.  Happy Gardening!

 

Update June 2022: Since originally writing this post, we've discovered another bean we love that's also in the "runner" family: Giant Greek White Beans. They have a white flower and produce a white bean that's even larger than the Scarlet runners. Though each bean is typically larger, the plants themselves don't seem to be quite as productive. We didn't realize the varieties would cross so now, sometimes when we plant a purple, Scarlet runner seed, it produces white flowers and beans!

This tipi is covered in Giant Greek White beans.

Here's a post on How to build a Bean Tipi/Teepee.

How to build a Bean Tipi/Teepee

Here are instructions for building a simple tipi, perfect for growing pole-beans. Tipis are a great way to support these vigorous climbers and a fun and shady hideout for your smaller garden helpers! 

 

Tipis are an efficient way to grow lots of beans if you wish to dry them and save them for a seed-crop or winter storage.

 

Note: tipis are not a good choice for peas as peas' tendrils are too small to grasp the poles. Beans spiral around the trellis with their whole vine so the pole's diameter is less crucial.

A large tipi covered in Scarlet Runner beans. See the red blossoms amongst the green leaves?

 

--You'll need: 12-20 bamboo poles approximately 1" in diameter and up to 12 feet long. The taller the tipi, the more poles you'll need to fill in the gaps between your initial tripod poles. If you don't have access to bamboo, other long, straight poles will work. Try vine-maple or willow. Most of the bamboo poles we've used have been donated by friends who have large patches of bamboo that benefits from thinning. Here in the United States, we've also found them offered for free on Craig's list.

 

--You'll also need something to secure the initial three tripod-poles together. Strips of inner-tubes work well though you can use heavy cord or electrician's tape. (LINK: How to tie tipi poles).

 

-- Grass-clippings, dried leaves, straw or other mulch for the floor of the tipi.

 

-- Three 18" stakes to secure initial tripod to the ground, and wire to attach. 

 

-- Bean seeds: Our favorite is Scarlet Runner beans though we've also grown Giant Greek White beans which are in the same family of beans. They're very tasty, and larger than the Scarlet Runners, but not quite as productive per vine. Morning Glory flowers are beautiful but of course you can't eat them! See: Grow your own protein; Scarlet Runner beans LINK

To begin, we prep the soil, fluffing it up with a spade-fork or roto-tiller and digging in enough compost so the soil isn't too heavy. Many times we have moved our large compost bins at the end of the winter (once we've emptied them out) and built our tipi right where the compost bin has been! Beans don't need a lot of fertilization as they are able to "fix" nitrogen from the air but they won't suffer from the extra fertility either. The soil needn't be heavily groomed as big bean seeds can find their way around dirt clumps but don't make their job too hard by planting them into soil that is weedy or too course.

This tipi is covered in Giant Greek White beans.

We use wood-ash (trace minerals) and coffee grounds (attracts worms) as soil amendments (you can learn about that here - LINK: Coffee and Wood Ash for Soil Fertility) Use just a light sprinkling of ashes; they're very concentrated! Work the wood ash and coffee grounds into the soil before putting up your poles so it's evenly mixed.

Lightly sprinkle wood-ash to give your plants a boost of trace-minerals - LINK

 

Next, we lay down a heavy bed of straw, leaves or dried grass-clippings in the middle (6" thick). This helps keep the soil's moisture-content consistent and also attracts composting worms to live in the soil. Mulch makes it more pleasant for kids to hang out in the tipi for play and for harvesters to pick the beans later as the ripe beans will hang down inside the tipi.

Laying on your back and looking up through the top of the tipi can be very relaxing.

Next we choose three stout, straight poles and tie a knot around them six to eight feet from the ground. You want to place your knot lower than the height of your shortest other poles as they need to be able to lay in the crotches formed by this tripod. If the knot is too high, they'll just slip through. Tie the knot tight enough to hold the three poles together but not so tight that you can't twist the poles into the tripod shape. Spread the three tied poles into a tripod with the legs equal distance apart. LINK: How to tie poles for a tipi.

 

Important: Stake the tripod firmly to the ground so your tipi won't blow over before the vines actually anchor it. We use 18" wooden stakes driven deep into the ground and wire the tripod poles to them securely.  

Start with a tripod...

...and fill in with other poles, leaving space for a door. Mulch the floor with straw or other soft material.

Lay the other poles in the spaces between these main poles. Place the first pole 10-12 inches to right of the bottom of the first leg of the tripod. The second pole, the same distance to the right of the second tripod pole and the third pole 10-12 inches from the third tripod pole. 

 

On the second round, continue to place one pole in each tri-pod section till you have them all placed. This spiral pattern will lock the poles together and make a stronger tipi.

 

Be sure to leave space for a door on one of the sides!

Poles are placed 10-12 inches apart.

Here's the tipi's top after all the poles have been placed:

Plant the beans about 4-5 inches apart, in between the tipi poles. Beans are a large seed so you don't have to groom the soil as much as for small seeds.

These bean plants are about 8-weeks old.

Beans hang down inside the tipi for easy harvesting.

Here's another way to use tipis. We grew a bush-variety of Delicata squash in their centers, nasturtium flowers at their doors and sunflowers behind.  It made for a beautiful edge along the north side of our garden.

 

Setting up the tipis

Early in the season.

Plants fully mature.

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