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Very few people grow dry beans in their home gardens at all, and the few who do don't seem to grow many interesting varieties. In fact, many gardening stores, don't carry more that one or two kinds of beans. But if you order from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds or from the Vermont Bean Seed Company you can find some great varieties. This season I am growing 15 different kinds of beans.
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| The 15 kinds of beans that I just planted for this year. |
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| Bahimba Beans |
5 reasons to grow dry beans
1. They are high in protein.
Unlike many garden vegetables, beans are high in protein. They are more of a staple than many common garden crops.
2. They keep well.
As long as they are properly dried, beans can keep for years if kept in proper conditions in an airtight container. Unlike many garden crops, dry beans take very little work to preserve. They have to be shelled, and left to be fully dried, but they don't need to be cooked, frozen or canned to be preserved.
3. They are easy to grow.
As long as they are kept weeded and watered, beans take minimal maintenance work throughout the growing season. They don't need to be started in pots before being planted outdoors, they don't require a trellis (as long as you stick with bush type beans) and they don't need pruning.
4. They are beautiful.
I don't think that there are any vegetables more beautiful. Perhaps some tomatoes, potatoes, or flour corn come close, but beans, with their many patterns and colors, have a beauty all their own.
5. You can save your own seed.
For the most part, beans won't cross with each other, so to save your own seed, all you need to do is set aside a few matured dried beans in an airtight container.
One of my favorite simple bean recipes
1 cup dry beans
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
herbs- I like to use parsley, summer savory, and bay leaf
Soak beans overnight in 1 quart of room temperature water with 3/4 tbs of salt dissolved in it.
Rinse the beans and add fresh water. transfer them to a medium saucepan and gently boil them with the garlic and herbs until they are fully cooked. This usually takes about an hour, but can range greatly depending on the size and freshness of the beans.
Chop the onions and sauté them until they are translucent.
Drain the water off of the beans and mix them with the onions in a baking dish.
Mix in the onions and grate cheese over the top.
Broil on high until the cheese is melted.
So do I have you convinced, are you going to grow dry beans this year? If you need some seeds, I can certainly give you some. I have gallons of beans on hand, and I would love to see more home gardeners growing them.
