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.

Amazing Quince! - Sugar-free Recipe

Update - Oct. 2024: We've been continuing with our experiments with quince recipes and learned a few things. Rather than re-write the post, we've added an addendum at the end. Also, please read the comments for info offered by fellow readers. Enjoy!

Hi folks - We've just made an amazing discovery. We love quince! When prepared as the recipe outlines below, quince tastes like a pear/lemon fruit with a hint of peach and rose-oil! Ambrosia!

This has been one of our most beautiful autumn seasons on memory! Pictured is the back of our 1875 Farmhouse, the yellow, shag-bark hickory tree (on the right) and a rainbow in-between. (October 2019)

Every year, about this time, one of the Monroe "locals" drops off two or three HUGE boxes of quince at our local Food Pantry. The quince usually sit on the shelves, for a month or more, with a sign that says "Take as many as you as you can use," but very few people take any, including us. Eventually the Pantry folks get tired of looking at them and they end up in the Sharing Gardens compost pile.

Quince after harvest. Photo credit: LINK

We've been reluctant to try them because they're so darn hard to cut open which makes them seem like a real pain to prepare. Also, they are very tart when they're raw and every recipe we'd heard of called for lots of sugar. We're always trying to find ways to limit our sugar intake, not add to it! So, until we discovered the joys of quince, we just figured our compost piles were going to have a nice big influx of worm-food in a month or two.

That is, until I (Llyn) looked up their nutritional content and Chris and I were pretty impressed - particularly as a good source of zinc and copper. Minerals are often the most difficult nutrients to get enough of in our modern diets. Most farm soils are increasingly depleted and, unless you're getting your food from an organic farmer who replenishes those minerals in natural ways that the plants can absorb, (like wood ash - LINK) it may be difficult to get enough minerals from your diet without taking any vitamin supplements (which we don't). Quince are also low-calorie, high in anti-oxidants and great for digestion (their natural pectin is soothing to the gut!). Who knew? LINK

While I was browsing for more general info about the quince, I found a recipe that suggested boiling them for 8-10 min before baking them and then my cooking creativity kicked in and I came up with the recipe below. I've made it twice so I'm still fine-tuning it (so check back for updates!) But the best thing is, this recipe calls for no refined cane sugar (just maple-syrup, and not much of that) and is easy to prepare.

Pears (on left). Whole, boiled quince (in bowl). Quartered quince (below) - this picture was taken before I figured out how to cut fruit away from core (see below).

The Recipe:

4-6 medium-sized quince (about 5 cups)
4-5 medium yellow pears (about 3 cups) (or sweet apples)
1/3 cup maple syrup (about 1 TBSP maple syrup per cup of quince)
1 TBSP lemon juice (don't over-do the lemon, as quince is plenty tart already!)
1 tsp cinnamon

Choose uniformly yellow, fully ripe fruit without bruises or other damage. It helps if they are a uniform size (for boiling phase).

Bring a pan of water to boil - deep enough to mostly cover the quince.
Using your bare hands, run the quince under water and rub as much of the fuzz off as you can (don't worry if you miss some).

Place in boiling water for 8-10 minutes, depending on size. I think I over-did it the second time I made this. I was trying to soften the fruit all the way through but the core remained quite hard, even with longer boiling and the second time the outer fruit got rather mushy.

Lift the quince out of the boiling water and allow to cool.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a baking dish with coconut oil or butter.
Combine ingredients for sauce in a measuring cup with a lip for pouring.

Once cool, using a cutting board, cut off any brown spots or other blemishes on the fruit.
Slice the remaining fruit away from the core in as big pieces as possible (see picture). Your knife won't want to go through the core at all. It's super-hard! Just keep shaving off pieces all the way around the core till you've gotten as much as is easy.

Cut fruit away from the hard core.

Cut the fruit into bite-sized pieces.
Wash and core the pears. Cut into bite-sized pieces.
Mix the fruit together by layering it into the baking pan.
Drizzle the sauce over top of the fruit. Gently stir the fruit and sauce together to spread sauce evenly.

Quince, pears and sauce - before baking.

Use a pan with a lid, or cover with aluminum-foil.
Bake for forty-minutes covered (or until juices are boiling).
Take out, gently fold the fruit and sauce together so the fruit at the top gets re-sauced.
Leave cover off and bake for 10 more minutes to lightly caramelize the top.

After baking. Yum!

We like ours chilled with a scoop of organic low-fat, plain yogurt and some organic, lightly sweetened shredded-wheat cereal crushed on top.
We'll keep experimenting...seems like raisins or date-pieces would be good raw or cooked in with the fruit. Also, some crushed walnuts or granola might be good too.

A Quince Essential Fruit - here's a fun post that gives more details about this unique fruit including growing tips.

Let us know of your discoveries/variations in the comments below.

Addendum: We've discovered that, at least with our quince, we can skip the boiling stage of the recipe. The core of quince is so hard that even boiling doesn't soften it but by shaving pieces off and then cutting these pieces into bite-sized pieces, we've found we can skip the boiling phase of the recipe outlined above. Don't know if all varieties of quince are soft enough to do this...

'Nooks and Crannies' hot breakfast cereal RECIPE

We get feedback sometimes that our posts are too garden-specific and, for people who aren't gardeners they wonder what they can do to live a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle. Well, here's a recipe for the hot cereal mix that we eat almost every morning.

We named the cereal mix 'Nooks and Crannies' because it seems to meet so many of our nutritional needs. After a bowl of it we feel incredibly sated and it gives us slow-burning fuel that lasts the morning. Our philosophy is to try and get as many nutrients (and as few toxins!) from the food we eat so we lean towards whole foods with the least amount of processing. We mainly buy organically grown foods and everything we grow is, of course, also organic. We also try to eat a variety of foods so that the micro-nutrients that are low in one food might be filled in by eating something else. (LINK: Why We Grow and Eat "Organic" Food )

This post contains the recipe for making 'Nooks and Crannies' cereal, including a list of ingredients (all 31 of them!) followed by instructions for making your own pre-ground seed/nut mix. Enjoy!

Kassaby sorghum - sweet and nutty in flavor. (LINK: Grow your own Sorghum for grain and flour )

Honestly, the recipe for making the cereal itself isn't much different from what most people make and eat: grainsand dried fruit.  What really sets Nooks and Crannies apart are the variety of the ingredients and the toppings we add after the cereal is cooked.  Here is the basic recipe for the grain-base of the cereal followed by ideas to make your experience truly deluxe! 

Basic cooking recipe: 1-part grains; 1-part fruit/nuts to 2-parts water  

For two of us, we use:
Rounded 1/3 cup of the corn/sorghum mix (recipe below)
Rounded 1/3 cup rolled oats (kept separate in their own air-tight jar)
dried or frozen fruit/whole nuts (about 1/2 cup) (ideas below)
pinch of salt

Mix grains, fruits, nuts and salt in a saucepan.
Heat water (about 2 cups) and pour onto cereal. Stir.
Simmer on very low heat.
Add more hot water as needed as you simmer.
Dish up, Add Nooks and Crannies special toppings (listed below). Serve.

Sorghum drying. We grow our own, dry it and grind it for cereal and baking.

The key to swift morning prep-time is to have some of the ingredients pre-ground and pre-mixed  - the grain mix and the seed/nut mix (see below). This makes the daily prep much faster as we just need a scoop or spoonful of each.

We have all the ingredients stored close together in jars with lids so I can just open each one and add a handful to the pot. The frozen fruits are also kept in jars; I just find it easier to open and close a jar than to mess with freezer bags (that zip closed) or twist-ties (which aren't air-tight).

So I go down the line of jars and add everything to the pot. The only thing I actually use a measuring cup for is the grain-mix (corn and sorghum) and the oats. Everything else I just scoop out little (or big!) handfuls with my hands. You'll find what works best for you.

If time is an issue in your morning routine, pre-soak the grains and fruit overnight and add some hot water in the morning and simmer till done.

Other goodies to cook into cereal: I add a selection of dried/frozen fruits, nuts and other goodies before cooking...(about 1/2 cup total). (left: home-grown grapes before freezing).

Choose from:
dried shredded coconut - just a small handful
cacao nibs -  they're a bit bitter but highly nutritious so I just put about 1 rounded teaspoon per double person serving.
frozen blueberries, grapes or strawberries -  sweet goodness!

 

Dried fruit: There are so many delicious ones to choose from. Mix and match your favorite combo!
raisins, pears, figs and/or:
    dried date pieces coated in oat flour - (these are found in the bulk section)
    prunes - I read somewhere that a few of these a day is especially good for bone density...We all know the other health benefit their known for...regularity!
dried bananas  - Sometimes bananas will be sold at a huge discount if they become too ripe so we dehydrate a bunch of them for later use.  
Nuts: Nuts and seeds are a great source of protein, fiber and many essential minerals. We grind many seeds to use as toppings (see below) but like to add whole walnuts while the cereal is cooking.

Frozen strawberries from our garden. We lay them on a tray to freeze them before bagging so they don't clump together.

Nooks and Crannies special toppings: These are all added after cooking (to preserve their maximal nutritional value).  After cooking, we scoop the the cereal into bowls and add toppings to make the cereal extra satisfying. Again, these are all stored in jars close to the stove; each with their own little scoop or measuring spoon so we can swiftly add the ones chosen for the day.

- pre-ground seed and nut mix - our current mix contains nine ingredients - all organically grown seeds and nuts. We pre-grind and pre-mix it so, at the time of making the cereal, we just put a TBSP on each serving of cereal (to make your own, see below).
- dried and powdered turmeric - scant 1/8 tsp. - this is purported to provide anti-inflammatory relief (and a host of other benefits). We bought a big bag of it when we found it on sale but then found that its flavor got in the way of us using it regularly. By adding just this tiny amount to our cereal, it doesn't affect the flavor and we figure that having a tiny bit each day is better than none at all.
- dried and powdered lion's mane mushrooms - scant 1/8 tsp. - though not as strong flavored as the turmeric and touted as having equally impressive health benefits (particularly for the neurological system) we just weren't eating it! So, now we get a little bit almost daily with our cereal.
- powdered cacao powder: about 1/2 tsp. High in anti-oxidants; gives a mild cocoa flavor to the cereal
- powdered, buffered vitamin C (in the citrate form): about 1/4 tsp. Adds a tart, fruit-like taste and valuable nutrition. Vit. C is heat-sensitive so I always add it at the end with the the non-dairy 'milk' to minimize loss of potency.
- dried coconut flour - 1 rounded tsp per serving - adds sweetness and protein (very concentrated; a little goes a long way!)
- maple syrup - for many people, the dried fruit will make your cereal plenty sweet but we still like to add maple syrup after cooking
- soy milk and/or nut milk - we've gone through phases of making our own but can't seem to use it fast enough to balance out the hassle of prep-time. It's frustrating when it spoils before we use it up and we have to throw some of it away. So for now, we settle for commercial soy and nut milks.

One of the unusual ingredients we add to our cereal is dried Lion's Mane mushroom. LINK: Health Benefits of Lion's Mane)

Recipe for Pre-ground seed mix: (Added after the grains and fruits are cooked - 1 TBSP per serving) As mentioned above, we save on morning prep-time by having the following ingredients pre-ground and mixed. 

Seeds are incredibly nutrient-dense. They need to be as they hold everything the little plant needs to get started in life! Be sure and consume only organically grown seeds...Better for you; better for the Earth.

We use an electric coffee-grinder to grind the seeds. We have one that is specifically dedicated to this so it doesn't pick up the taste of coffee. Of the following list, the only thing we grow ourselves are the two kinds of amaranth (Right: Llyn with Hopi Red Dye Amaranth). Everything else is store-bought. We buy them in bulk. As you'll see, almost half the mix is composed of flax seeds.

A tip for grinding: Measure out all the seeds and combine in a bowl or large measuring cup. Mix them well and scoop out the amount that fits in your grinder. Grind, and pour into another bowl. Scoop more/grind/pour etc. By mixing the flax seeds in with the other seeds the grinder won't get as bogged down with the seeds that are high in oils (especially sesame seeds). Store in airtight containers in your fridge or freezer. Freeze all but a small jar of it to keep it fresh). Seeds (and nuts), once ground can lose a lot of their nutrients quickly if exposed to air or heat.

Here's the combo of seeds we use:

4 parts flax seeds -  We love their flavor; they're great for digestion and give a sense of bulk/fluff to the cereal. Here's a LINK explaining many of Flax seed's health benefits.
2 parts pumpkin seeds - raw, unsalted
2 parts sunflower seeds - raw, unsalted
1 part sesame seeds - we use the brown ones as they've not had their hulls removed so they are more nutritious than the white ones
1 part hemp hearts - these are soft, inner parts of the hemp seeds after removing the outer shell/hull - highly nutritious. (Be sure to get the hulled seeds as those that still have their seed coating are a bit bitter. LINK)
1 part chia seeds
1/2 part poppy seeds
1/2 part Golden Amaranth - we grow this ourselves - sweet and nutty flavored
1/2 part Hopi Red Dye amaranth - this doesn't taste as sweet as the Golden amaranth but it volunteers all over our garden so we might as well harvest, dry it and eat it!

Llyn with dried blue corn, before grinding

Corn and Sorghum Grain mix:

We grow, process and grind the blue corn, yellow corn and sorghum ourselves. We grind them courser than a flour...more like a "meal" (we like the texture and at this level of coarseness it doesn't take too long to cook). If you aren't able to grow your own, purchase them from the bulk-foods section. Use a courser grind (corn meal instead of corn flour).

This mix forms the foundation for Nooks and Crannies and is cooked with rolled oats and dried fruit). (right: Daimant grain mill we use to grind our corn and sorghum)

Basic pre-mixed grain recipe:
2 parts ground blue corn - (higher in protein than yellow corn meal; turns your cereal a delightful purple!) (LINK: Grow Your Own 'Blue Corn' )
2 parts ground yellow corn
1 part Kassaby sorghum* - sweet, long-season sorghum
1 part BaYeKi sorghum* - not as sweet; used primarily for baking (LINK: Grow your own Sorghum for grain and flour)

Combine these ingredients together and keep in an airtight container. Keep some handy on the counter to make your morning cereal and store the surplus in an airtight container in your fridge.
*Sorghum is a high-protein, gluten-free grain. If you can't find it, just use corn meal: equal parts blue and yellow, coarsely ground.

This post isn't meant to suggest a rigid rule for making 'Nooks and Crannies' but to inspire you in your own breakfast cereal creations. Enjoy!

Planting a fall and winter garden

(Note: This is a re-publishing of a post we wrote in June of 2013. There are a few things we're doing differently now but the essence of the information is the same. We hope you find it helpful in starting crops for the Fall and Winter seasons.) 

Here we are, in the Willamette valley of Oregon, halfway through June, having just finished planting our gardens for summer and fall harvests, and it's already time to begin starting some seeds for our fall and winter harvests, as well as our overwintered veggies that will feed us early next spring.  For those who are fairly new to gardening it probably seems counter-intuitive to plant fall and winter crops during the heat of summer, but when you consider that it will take months to mature crops planted now, it begins to make sense.

So, here's how we do it at the Sharing Gardens.  We start broccoli, cabbage, kale, lettuce and chard  around the 3rd week of June and into early July.  We carefully drop two seeds into each cell of a jumbo six-pack or a suitable smallish pot using a complete organic planting mix with good water retention capability (or start them in Tofu containers/'to-go' plastic trays; or Directly in Greenhouse Raised-beds). Black Gold is a great brand if you don't have access to your own blend of compost, leaf mold and weed free garden soil.  Any brand of 'Organic" potting mix should do just fine.  The important thing is that it be able to hold moisture throughout hot summer days and that there be no other weed-seeds that could germinate. Once your seeds germinate, thin them to one plant per cell or pot (or follow the directions for 'potting them up' in the other linked posts).

Your starts will likely need watering twice a day from a watering can or light-mister (a full strength hose can uproot them or damage their stalks).  Keep an eye on your starts and make adjustments to include an extra hand watering as needed.  Bottom-watering is especially useful when the seedlings are small. Set your six-packs/tofu-containers in shallow trays on a level surface to hold water for supplying moisture over longer periods throughout the hot days.  However you do it the key is to maintain constant moisture (but not over-water them!). 

Another thing to be aware of is that some birds LOVE tender young greens and will actually dig out young seedlings as they begin to emerge.  This problem can be averted by purchasing some floating row cover which will allow water and light to get through but will thwart the birds.  The brand we use is called 'Remay' and is available by the foot or in small rolls at local garden supply stores and nurseries.  It can be reused for years if it is kept away from nesting rodents when being stored.  Another more permanent solution is to build frames covered with window screen to put over your starts.

In planning your year round garden you'll want to get used to the idea of earmarking the places where your fall and winter plantings will go.  After your early plantings of greens are harvested, be ready to add compost and other soil amendments a couple of weeks ahead of your later planting to give the soil a chance to reestablish healthy populations of worms and other soil organisms before setting out your later crops.  With practice and experience you will begin to establish a pattern and rhythm and the process will become familiar to you.

When your starts are about 4-6 weeks along, it's time to transplant them into the garden, into the beds you've previously prepared to receive them.  Just open up holes large enough to drop them in place and gently press them into the soil. Be sure to give them the proper spacing apart from each other.  Crowded plants don't produce as well as ones with plenty of room to expand.

The internet is a wonderful resource!   We went online and did a search, 'vegetable planting guide for Willamette Valley Oregon'  and found a printable guide compiled by Oregon Tilth,  which helps to take the guess work out of garden planning.  You can do a similar search if you are not in our general area.  There are a variety of other vegetables you can probably grow aside from the ones I've mentioned here.  We want you to know that the harvest doesn't have to end with the first fall frosts.  You can enjoy eating fresh veggies pretty much year 'round in many parts of the world.  This article only touches on some of the techniques for fall and winter gardening.  We hope that you will look into the subject further and be well on your way to greater food security for yourself, your immediate family and your community of friends.  Be well!!!!

June 2023: Aside from the crops mentioned above, we are starting a second batch of basil. The first plants we have in one of our greenhouses are already trying to go-to-seed. There's time to grow more and it's always nice to make a bunch of pesto to freeze and enjoy through the winter.

We are also starting a second crop of cucumbers. Though they'll overlap with the two-dozen plants we already have in the ground, they will also extend a month or more beyond when our first crop is no longer producing. This gives us plenty to make a vegetable juice that we 'can' and to have lots to share when everyone else's plants are dying back. Summer-squash (zuchini/crook-necks etc) will also have time for a second crop to mature.

Garden Bounty! Spring Garden Digest

Good day to all of you reading this - May of 2025. Spring weather is fully upon us now, with lilacs blooming, grass growing by the minute, plants we started back in January and February finally getting planted in the ground. It's a time of great bounty and beauty! 

We'll write a full garden update soon but here are some time-relevant posts for mid-spring for our area in the southern Willamette Valley, Oregon (USDA zone 7B). Hopefully you'll find some information you can use in your garden too! (image: Jen, with spring's lettuce-bounty!)

How to Build a Bean Tipi (teepee): Bean tipis are an attractive way to grow pole beans and an efficient use of space. They're also fun for young people to hide out in the shade at the peak of summer. As beans ripen, they hang down inside the tipi and can be harvested from within. (image: Llyn in our first tipi built in 2009 at the Alpine Park Sharing Garden)

Organic Solution to Slugs: In the early days of the Sharing Gardens we had horrible problems with slugs; sometimes they would devour a whole row of newly transplanted lettuce or cabbage - overnight. We finally got them under control using a method which is approved for use in organically grown farms and gardens: iron phosphate (trade name - Sluggo). Click Here to read more about it.

Blue corn in the foreground and Kassaby sorghum in the background; both drying on their stalks before being harvested for further drying and processing.

In recent years, we've been developing methods for small-scale grain and bean growing and processing. These methods might not be efficient for a solo gardener to use (because of the time-consuming nature of the processing) but in a community-setting such as the Sharing Gardens, 'many hands make light work'. (right: Golden Amaranth - grown for use in our hot cereal mix)

Dried grain and bean processing is a fun, relaxing way for Sharing Garden participants to help with the harvest and enjoy conversations. Here we are, shucking corn.

Bean and Grain processing have become favorite activities for our volunteers in the fall as people enjoy sitting around and doing this hand-work while they visit. These processes are adaptable to any community setting such as schools, senior centers or churches. Click on the links to learn how to grow and process: Scarlet Runner beans, Sorghum for grain and flour, and/or Blue Corn (which has up to 30% more protein than yellow corn!). (image: Pulling husks off of blue corn)

More community grain processing...

Why Sunflowers are Great for Bees: Apparently, the pollen from sunflowers has the ability to strengthen the immune systems of bees! If left to mature, the seeds provide food for birds in the autumn when many are in need of storing up extra fat and protein for migrations. Left in place through the winter, sunflower stalks provide habitat and shelter for many insects and their eggs. And they're just beautiful! Be sure to plant 'true' sunflowers; non-hybrids, like Mammoth Russians or Autumn Beauties as hybrids are often not as nutritious for birds and insects as heirloom varieties. (image: Chris with a Mammoth Russian sunflower head. That's a lot of birdseed!)

Sunflowers are great to plant with children because the seeds are big enough for them to easily handle. Here, a classroom of preschoolers planted a huge patch of sunflowers that was just glorious when they all began to bloom in late summer.

Some years we have harvested and dried the sunflower heads to feed to birds throughout the winter. Nowadays, because we're drying so many grains and beans (and onions, foreground) we prefer to leave the sunflowers on their stalks. The birds finish eating them before winter comes but they need that extra fat and protein to prepare for their winter migrations.

Do I Need to Buy Seed Potatoes or Can I Just Grow Potatoes from the Grocery Store? Here, in early May, it may be too late to buy seed potatoes from your local produce store unless they are already showing signs of sprouting. Potatoes don't sprout in response to day-length or soil-temperature but have a natural dormancy period which they must pass through before they sprout again. But if store-bought potatoes, or ones you have had in storage are already sprouting, here are some tips for how to turn them into 'seed potatoes' for planting: Sprouting Potatoes? What to Do (image: Sprouted potatoes, ready for planting.) We pull them out of the dark when sprouts are small like this. Being exposed to mild, indirect light stops the sprouting process, turns the potatoes green and hardens-off the sprouts so they're less likely to break when planted. Once planted, potatoes resume growing.

Potatoes with beautiful sprouts, ready for planting.

Chemical contamination of compost and soil: This is a timely post as this is the season that people often purchase potting soil from an urban composting facility (that turns yard and construction waste into compost and soil), or try to amend their garden beds with manure found for free.

Unfortunately, some urban composting facilities let treated lumber into their compost process (not on purpose, but it happens...). Treated lumber can contain arsenic and other persistent toxic ingredients which accumulate in their finished compost. Only purchase compost or soil from trusted, tested facilities. (image: tomato seedlings showing classic signs of herbicide poisoning).

Also beware of horse manure (composted or not)! Horses, unlike cows, goats and rabbits, have a simple digestive system that won't break down the herbicides often sprayed on hay and other horse-food crops. Unless horse manure is thoroughly composted (this can take several years) herbicides can persist in their manure.

In 2017, we made the mistake of mixing un-composted horse manure into our potting mix (we thought it was composted) and we lost three batches of tomato, pepper and sunflower seedlings! We added this same manure to some of our raised beds which stunted and killed the beans we planted there and continued to be a problem even after we replaced the soil (some of the herbicides lingered in the beds).

This horse manure that Bella and Adri were loading into buckets) was thoroughly composted.

This first post (Herbicide Contamination?) describes symptoms to look for, and this second post (Herbicide Contamination Update) reveals the likely culprit, an herbicide from the family called: Chlorpyrifos-Wickipedia,  Chlopyrifos Facts - Pesticide Action network.  

If you're going to use horse manure on your garden be sure you know the source of the hay the horses were eating (was their feed raised organically?) and how long the manure has been composting. Or, better yet, avoid using it altogether.

The year we suffered from herbicide contamination (from uncomposted horse manure used in our potting mix) Steve Rose came to our rescue. Here he is with some of the many tomato 'starts' he'd grown to share at our local food pantry. He provided all our tomato starts that year (after three failed attempts to start our own!).

We have now switched to 100% 'veganic' gardening (no livestock manures or animal by-products) with amazing results! The contamination from horse manure was the final catalyst for weaning us off this source of fertility. (image: Sept 2023 Sunship greenhouse, grown with no commercial fertilizers, livestock manures or animal by-products). Making Your Own "Veganic" Potting Soil in Your Greenhouse Paths - Using Worms

Our 'Ark' greenhouse, May 29, 2023 - also grown 'veganically'.

Important Sharing Gardens LINKS: It's come to our attention that people viewing our site on cell phones are sometimes not able to see the Links we have on our side-bar. Here are most of them!
Overview and Benefits of the Sharing Gardens,
Garden Location and Volunteer Info
Meet the Founders - Contact Us
Wish List
Mission Statement
Videos About the Sharing Gardens
So, you want to start a Sharing Garden!

For the full list, Click Here: FAQ's - Links 

 Enjoy Spring's unfolding!

Apples in bloom; the promise of fruit in autumn.