Local food: Grow your own beans and grains

It's time to be planting grains and beans in our area (Willamette Valley, Oregon USA, USDA Zone 7b). Every year we grow a yellow corn and a blue corn, two kinds of sorghum and amaranth; all of which we dry down, hand-process and grind for use in cereal and baking. We also grow lots of Scarlet Runner beans (pictured left) and kidney beans to be dried and used for cooking throughout the year. Here are links to show you our methods. 

Grow Your Own 'Blue Corn' Blue corn is higher in protein than yellow corn and it makes a delicious, sweet addition to your hot-cereal mix or baking recipes - Crumb-Free, Whole-Grain Cornbread Recipe . Here is info on growing and processing this heirloom grain, native to north America.

Corn bread made from a combination of blue and yellow corn we grew ourselves.

 Grow Your Own Protein - Scarlet Runner Beans: If you're interested in growing your own beans for winter-storage, this is a great variety to choose. Because the beans are so large, they are easy to process in the fall after you harvest them. They DO need trellising but adapt well to growing on a teepee, giving you a beautiful and fun, shady hide-out through the summer. If picked young, the beans and pods are even edible!

Shelling dried Scarlet Runner Beans is a favorite activity in the fall....

 

Grow your own Sorghum for grain and flour: Sorghum is a relatively easy grain to grow and process on a small to medium scale. It doesn't require heavy-feeding/fertilizer nor lots of water. We grow two varieties, BaYeKi, short-season, short height, less sweet; ideal for chicken feed but also fine for human consumption. And Kassaby, tall, long-season (often needs trellising to prevent lodging); it has a sweet, wonderful flavor. Canes can be used for making syrup (but you have to choose either syrup or grain; you can't have both).

 

Kassaby sorghum being laid out to dry before being removed from stalks.

Most seed-saving doesn't happen till the fall but, if you want to save seeds from your crops, here are some things to be thinking of as you plant your crops in the spring:  Basic Seed-Saving on a Small Scale. Happy Growing!
 

Image credit: Seed abundance! Mike Brunt

Spring has sprung! Here we go again...

Greetings dear friends, near and far. Spring has sprung here in Oregon! A few weeks ago we had a flush of sunny days in the low 70's-F and it made everything surge into growth-mode! Fruit trees are blossoming, bulbs are blooming, grass is growing (which we harvest and use for mulch and to create compost in our greenhouse paths: LINK). Though winter isn't entirely over yet, it feels good that the seasonal wheel is turning toward warmth and longer days. (Image: apple blossom behind our farmhouse).

Rainbow over The Ark greenhouse.

This post contains several articles we hope you will find relevant to our times: Info on building a small greenhouse out of a metal carport frame; How to build a bean tipi/teepee and an organic solution to slugs. 

Two teepees in front of our greenhouses; ready for bean planting.

The opening article is a deviation from the usual "How To" posts on this site and addresses the enormous challenges of our times from a Gandhi-an, solution perspective. We hope you will find it inspiring.

Image by Llyn Peabody

Lastly, if you are local to our town and would like to join us for a season of food-growing/seed-saving/food-preservation fun, there's a link to our volunteer page too. (Oh, and don't miss the short, sweet, uplifting video at the very end; a little wisdom from Andy and Opie Griffith)

Volunteers sifting mushroom compost.

At this time of world upheaval, environmental destruction and division among people, it is so good to hear coherent, wise voices, guiding us in ways that will help us heal the world. Nipun Mehta is one of those voices. He is the founder of ServiceSpace, a global ecosystem working at the intersection of technology, volunteerism, and a culture of generosity. Click here for an introduction to an article he wrote that explores the need to balance our activism/protesting (10%) with positive, creative actions (90%): Science of Soul Force: How Your Heart Changes the World. Brilliant!

Organic Solution to Slugs - Iron Phosphate: If you live in a moist climate like the Pacific NW, slugs and snails can be so destructive and disheartening! This post outlines our journey from the beginnings of our garden here in Monroe (2010) when whole rows of lettuce were consumed or damaged beyond recovery in a single night (!) to the present-day when we hardly ever see any slugs or snails in our gardens at all. If you don't want to read the whole post, the solution we found is: iron phosphate pellets (coated in something like oat-flour) - commercially known as Sluggo. It basically constipates the gastropods, disrupting their reproductive cycle.

Carport-Frame Greenhouse Design: Current world upheaval is catalyzing a resurgence in interest in growing ones own food. Having the ability to start seedlings at home and grow them to the point where they can be transplanted outside will give you a real jump on the season and it can be incredibly empowering (not to mention fun, and healing to one's nervous system!). All of our greenhouses have been positioned directly on the ground and we've built raised beds within them. We use saw-horses and slatted tables to start seedlings in the spring which are removed in time to plant in the beds later in the season for warmth-loving crops like tomatoes and peppers. An efficient use of space! This post will walk you through the step-by-step process of turning a metal carport frame into a sweet, functional greenhouse!

How to build a Bean Tipi/Teepee: In recent years, the Sharing Gardens have shifted the types of crops we grow towards a greater emphasis on storage crops like dried corn, sorghum and beans. Pole beans can take up a lot of space and resources if you trellis them in a straight line. We've found that growing beans on tipis is a very efficient use of space. Another advantage is that tipis can be disassembled and stored out of the way in the winter and then set up in a new site the following season. They also look great and make a fun hiding place for kids in summer's heat. Enjoy!

Potato harvesting at the Sharing Gardens

Volunteering and Garden Location: Participating at the Sharing Gardens is more than your typical volunteer experience. We welcome share-givers (volunteers) to share in learning how to grow food without chemicals or animal by-products to create fertility in a spirit of mutual generosity.

If interested, participants will learn about the full seasonal growing cycle: from planting seeds, growing them out, harvesting and preserving food, and saving seeds for the future. 

 

Everyone who contributes to the Sharing Gardens, whether through time, money or materials, shares in the the harvest. There is a wonderful feeling of camaraderie and closeness that develops amongst the people who help grow and harvest the food.  Our surplus fruits and vegetables are donated to local food charities. 

We have a limited number of spaces open for share-givers for the 2026 season. If you'd like to learn more, click here and be in touch.

Andy and Opie: Generosity, Charity and Being Selfish: The Andy Griffith Show often dished up some poignant lessons about being a good person in the world. Here's a precious little clip where Andy wrongly accuses Opie of being selfish. A great message overall...(and as gardeners who rely largely on worms to help us create compost for soil fertility, we especially enjoyed Opie's perspective on life as a worm!). (LINK) 

The Sharing Gardens is a registered non-profit and tax-exempt organization. We exist entirely through donations. If you have found benefit from our project or our site, please consider making a donation through PayPal. A receipt will automatically be provided for your records.

Basic Seed-Saving on a Small Scale

Hello dear friends of the Sharing Gardens. It's been a long stretch since we posted anything new. Autumn is our busiest season and then we often need a bit of time to recharge our energy as the season turns into winter. (Image credit left: Seed abundance! Mike Brunt)

The following post is about processing seed crops on a small-scale. Hopefully, it will inspire you to begin saving some of your own seeds and sharing them locally.

 

Though we're writing this in the heart of winter, if you're interested in saving seeds in the coming growing season, now is the time to be thinking about the varieties you wish to grow (they must be non-hybrid/Heirloom/open-pollinated varieties or they won't produce 'true' seeds).  

It is becoming increasingly clear that growing our own seeds is essential for locally-based food resilience. Rapid climate change (whether from man-made or other causes), the break down of supply chains, the increasing cost of purchasing seeds, all point to this need. 

 

Fortunately, for many plants, it is not that difficult to grow and save your own seeds. Over time, these will become increasingly adapted to your local climate and soil conditions.  

 

Image credit: Llyn Peabody 

The process of saving seeds begins with procuring high-quality, open-pollinated (non-hybrid) seed and growing out the plants in excellent soil with appropriate levels of water and sunlight and protection from pests. These topics are beyond the scope of this post.  

 

This post simply highlights some of the methods and innovations we've come up with over the years for small-scale seed saving. At the bottom of this post you'll find many links posts we've written that go into much more detail about growing and saving seeds from particular crops.  

Humans eat the seeds of many plants. Here, Olivia is harvesting Hopi Red Dye amaranth. Some grain-seeds we save for future planting, some we share with other growers, and most we grind for use in our very own hot breakfast cereal mix. (LINK: 'Nooks and Crannies' hot breakfast cereal RECIPE)

Once you've grown plants to maturity, it's important to harvest them at peak ripeness but not to wait too long or, for seeds that mature in flower heads or seed pods, you risk losing them as they pop-free and fall to the ground. In general, you're looking for pods or flower heads to dry and the seeds themselves to swell and darken. To determine ripeness for individual plant varieties, do your own research. 

For seeds that grow in pods (these are Red Russian kale seeds) you'll want to check them periodically to pick them at peak ripeness. But don't wait too long or the pods may shatter, spreading your precious seeds on the ground.

After harvesting grains, DRYING: Beans, grains, and many other types of seeds, all require a bit of drying before they can be processed. This makes them easier to break out of their pods. To dry, they need warm, dry conditions, protected from mice and birds. In summer and early fall months, we do this in our greenhouses. Use tarps or lay them in flat boxes or plastic totes to catch any seeds that fall from the plants. Be systematic in laying out the seed-heads, spreading them out so they dry evenly.  

Be systematic as you lay out grains, beans or other seed crops to dry. If they are laid out too thick, the bottom layers may not dry properly. (Chris and Suzanne laying out Kassaby sorghum-heads on sheets.)

Smaller seed-heads like these two kinds of amaranth need to be put on tarps to catch falling seeds as the plants dry. (Hopi Red Dye and Golden amaranth)

We lay corn out to dry on tarps before shucking it off the cob. Pull husks back to facilitate drying and only put the cobs one layer deep. (Hooker's Blue and Golden Bantam varieties. Both make excellent dried corn for grinding).

If you have trouble with birds eating your grains or seeds while drying, use a light-colored cotton sheet or cloth to cover them.

We often use cardboard boxes to dry some grains and seeds. The trick is to find boxes that have no holes at the corners (or to tape them closed). (Nantes carrot seeds drying)

Kassaby sorghum drying in a cardboard box.

We dry down some kinds of seeds in plastic totes. (Radish seeds pictured)

Different plants require different methods for removing seeds from their husks. Most seeds (grains and beans) also require sifting to remove the bulk of the chaff from the seeds. These steps are then followed by winnowing (see below). Here are some methods we use:

Some seed-pods are spiky and require gloves to remove them from their husks. Here, Hopi Red Dye amaranth being rubbed through a screen. It will still require winnowing to remove some remaining chaff from the seeds.

Amaranth seed can also be removed by rubbing the seed heads vigorously between one's hands (gloves definitely required). Seeds fall to the tarp. Sifting and winnowing to follow (Image: Darlene and Suzanne with Golden Amaranth - a sweet, mild grain. One of our favorites for breakfast cereal).

Golden amaranth seed being run through a sieve. Seeds shake out below.

Rolling pin method: Some seeds are more conducive to a rolling-pin method (radish seeds pictured). Using a rolling pin, or wide, wooden dowel, the seeds are popped out of their pods. They are then sifted to remove big pieces of chaff, and winnowed.

Sorghum: Here are some specific techniques we've developed to process sorghum seed.

Sorghum processing tools: Sifter on left and a tool Chris invented by affixing a metal pet-comb to a 2"x4" piece of wood. These tools work great for medium-sized seed-heads such as sorghum.

Chris' pet-comb tool in use. The seed-heads are gently drawn upwards to dislodge them from the plant-stalk and captured in the tote below. (Image: Kassaby sorghum)

Sorghum being passed through a 1/4"  metal screen to further break up the seed-head clusters.

Sorghum (BaYe Ki variety) being passed through a final screening (a nursery-flat with smaller holes than 1/4" screen). Winnowing will follow.

Corn:

Note that, while corn is drying on the cob, we've peeled the husks back but left them attached. This facilitates them drying faster as the husks wick away moisture. (Golden Bantam corn, with a bit of crossing with Hooker's blue in previous years of seed-saving. Corn is a very 'frisky' plant; eager to cross-pollinate).

Chris invented this tool to remove dried corn kernels from the cob. Long screws are drilled in from the outside with reinforcements of wood on the sides to prevent the tool from splitting under pressure. A handle makes it easier to use.

Corn-shucking tool, in use. As you rub the cob against the screws, the kernels fall into the bin below. Corn definitely requires further drying before storage or it is at risk of molding.

Beans: We use different methods to process seeds from pole beans (like Scarlet Runner beans) than bush beans (Kidney beans). Pole beans we process by hand; letting the beans dry on the vine and popping them from their pods by hand. Bush beans are more conducive to flailing (see below).

Many of our beans seeds are processed over a wide-mouth bin or tarp to capture falling seeds. A fun task for all ages! Be sure pods are good and dry. This will make processing much easier.

Kidney beans (which are a bush-variety of beans) are processed most quickly through a flailing method. It helps if the pods are fairly dry. We lay them on a tarp and whack them with pieces of plastic piping. This knocks the seeds from their shells.

After flailing, to further dislodge the beans from their pods, we sift them through a 1/2" wire mesh which removes the longer pieces of stems and chaff.

Kidney beans after sifting. The next step is winnowing.

Winnowing: Next we winnow our seeds, separating the remainder of the chaff (or at least most of it) from the seeds by pouring them from one container to another, multiple times, on a mildly windy day (or in front of a fan). The heavier seeds drop into the container below while the chaff blows away. Be sure you have a high enough 'drop' (space between the top and bottom containers) for the wind to blow away the chaff and a large enough receptacle below so that all the pouring seeds fall within it. 

 

Chris, winnowing beet seed in the wind.

Chris, winnowing Kidney beans in front of a fan.

Further Drying: All beans, grains and seeds will require further drying after they've been processed otherwise they are in danger of molding when in storage. We have found that bringing them indoors and finishing the drying process with a heat source works best for us. For small amounts, a food dehydrator on a very low setting can work as well.

If we're harvesting our seeds in late fall, some will require more drying than is possible outdoors as the sun becomes weaker and the air becomes more humid. When this is the case, we bring them inside and put them on shelves above our wood stove to dry. These are Kassaby sorghum heads before processing arranged in a basket for best air-flow. 

After winnowing, we put grains and beans and other seeds in baskets with a paper lining and continue to dry them inside.

We've hung shelves all around our living room above the wood stove to dry plant material, including seeds. If you don't have a wood stove, you can use a small space-heater or put seeds some place where warm, dry air circulates in your home.

Storage: After all your precious time and effort has gone into saving your seeds, be sure to store them well. Everything should have a clear label with the variety of seed and the year it was harvested. 

Our seed supply is mostly kept in our freezer with everything stored in air-tight containers. Though the cold temps will slow down the aging of the seeds, conditions can be too dry if seeds don't have air-tight protection. Sometimes we even use freezer-bags inside of plastic jars just to be sure.

Our food supply of grains and beans are also stored in air-tight containers in our pantry, out of direct sunlight. 

Nantes carrot seeds almost ready for harvest. These seed-heads all came from just three carrots re-planted after a period of dormancy in our fridge (Re-planting Carrots or Beets for Seed) . So, three seeds produced this many seeds for the future! (Note: lettuce plant going-to-seed at the left of the picture.)

Seeds are about community: Lastly, once you begin saving seeds, you'll soon find that your plants are able to produce far more seeds than you will be able to use. We have shared seeds with the Agrarian Sharing Network and their Seed Increase Initiative to help us distribute our seeds to a wider regional community and hope to participate in the Cascadia Seed Guild as they develop. This group, stewarded by Mike Brunt (the featured artist in this post) has developed this comprehensive guide outlining the need for bio-regional seed sovereignty and a road-map for getting there. Good stuff.

 

Seed swap at an Agrarian Sharing Network Propagation Fair, 2025.

Seeds help grow community connections. Here is a seed swap in someone's living room. Most of these women are connected to a small-scale, non-profit garden project so these shared seeds will continue to multiply and spread to an ever greater community.

Relevant Sharing Gardens LINKS: Here are relevant posts for saving specific kinds of seeds: (Image credit left: Five Sisters Abundance (corn, beans, squash, amaranth and sunflowers) Mike Brunt)

Family Heirlooms - Saving Your Own Seed: A general guide to saving seeds.

In addition, we have written posts on the specifics of saving seeds from the following plants:

Re-planting Carrots or Beets for Seed 

Growing Kale and Saving and Storing Kale Seed  

Saving Tomato Seeds 

Grow Your Own 'Blue Corn'  

Grow your own Sorghum for grain and flour: Small-Scale Grain Production and Processing 

Lettuce: From Seed to Feed - Part 2: Saving Seed  

Saving pea seeds- a low tech method to prevent Pea Weevil damage   

Grow Your Own Protein - Scarlet Runner Beans 

Sprouting potatoes? What to do.  

Though we're writing this in the heart of winter, if you're interested in saving seeds in the coming growing season, now is the time to be thinking about the varieties you wish to grow (they must be non-hybrid/Heirloom/open-pollinated varieties or they won't produce 'true' seeds).