Beans in Tasmania

Today I picked the first of this seasons beans. Both the french bush bean (Cherokee Wax) and climbing bean (Purple King). The bean harvest is one of my favourite times of the year as they are one of my favourite vegetables. Either fresh off the vine/bush for the sweet crunch or steamed. However the rest of my family do not seem as keen on them which just means more for me. When the harvest ramps up we blanch them for freezing and eating during winter.

Due to the dry summer this year I noticed some of the beans where off to a slower start. To combat this I mulched all beans heavily with mushroom compost. This seems to have worked wonders and since heavily mulching all beans have taken off.

Today's harvest was not massive, but judging by all the little beans on the vines/bushes, there will be a few weeks of picking ahead of me. I also have 6 rows of bush beans planted three weeks after the first lot to hopefully extend the bush bean picking. Regular picking and not allowing beans to get too big is generally recommended, plus I tend to break a few leaves off the vines if they get too heavy with leaves as this is supposed to promote new shoots. Not sure if this is the case but Steve Solomon in his book recommends it so I will continue to do so.

On a side note I saw something quite hilarious today. With the kids playing backyard cricket and me inspecting the beans, they saw some goats on the edge of our property. We went for a walk and I stumbled upon a goat stuck on a paddock fence with its mates watching. This goat had tried to jump the fence but the fence was a little too high and it was half over the fence unable to move. I proceeded to introduce myself to the goat, let it have a sniff of my hand and then gave it a pat. With a few pulls and pushes, the goat managed to remove itself from its predicament and we walked it back to its home at Brightside where there was a big enough hole that this goat and a few of its mates where getting under. In no time the goats were gone.

The past two years I have stumbled upon a way to grow celery successfully after years of struggling with it. After a little research, I found out that celery is more of a swamp plant in its natural environs. If the plant is allowed to dry out too often it stresses the plant which then means as it matures to decent eating size, it bolts to flower. Allowing celery to suffer any stress will mean bolting at the time you want to harvest.

What I now do is only plant celery near my front door step. This means that I can ensure the plants are drenched with water regularly to ensure no stress. The spot I plant also does not receive any hot afternoon sun which seems to be another important factor in successful growth. Whatever is the reason, it is working and freshly picked celery kicks butt on the week old stuff for sale at the shops!!!

today's bean harvest