We grow beans every year in our summer garden. There is nothing like freshly picked beans to complement a summer dinner. It is one vegetable that everyone in our family loves.
My dad is a big time gardener and he has a *ton* of green beans this year. He picks them every day and has a full basket. This is a photo of a part of his garden. In the foreground are his pumpkins, then zucchini, and in the way back…green beans and tomatoes. On the right side he has okra, chard, and eggplant.
You cannot see it in this photo but he has an electric fence around the garden to keep out the deer. He still had trouble with gophers so he had to dig up all his garden beds this last winter and put mesh in the bottom of every single box. The gophers still dig in the garden but they can’t get up into the veggies.
The variety of beans that we are growing, in the photo above, has a pretty little flower and the bean itself has a purple/blue tint to it. They don’t get as long as the beans we usually grow but they are tender and sweet
Speaking of a pretty flower…how about this eggplant blossom? My dad is growing a row of Japanese eggplant. I hope he shares.
He was willing to share this zucchini that became a monster. 🙂 I regularly get zucchini and green beans from him since his plants are producing earlier and with more vigor than those in my garden for some reason.
Our garden is a blaze with colors and it is such a joy to sit outside and enjoy all the growing things and blooming things. The gladiolas are not blooming yet…they are something new this year so I am anxious to see how they do.
We did not sow any bean seeds this week as part of the challenge but we did soak some and then cut them open and look at the parts. This was the subject of our nature journal.
Did you eat green beans this week? We did!
I wasn’t so sure when we started these Crop Plant Outdoor Hour Challenges that I was going to enjoy them, but now that we are into the study I think my whole family is learning more than we thought we would….focus, it is all about focus. 🙂
Crop Plants Notebook Pages – Companion to the Crop Plants Challenges
Custom made notebook pages for each crop plant challenge. I have designed simple to use pages that will complement each challenge and will be an easy way to start a nature journal. Each of the eight notebook pages is in full color, but they are just as great in black and white. These notebook pages can be purchased for $2.50. View a SAMPLE
Wow! Your Dad is quite the gardner. He looks very healthy. I would imagine being and avid gardner has much to do with that. We really need to get back to our nature studies and pull those journals out. Thanks for your inspiration!
here in the NE our green bush beans are only now just big enough to eat! AND we are getting rain AGAIN today. I’ll post a picture of the garden update soon.
pineneedlegarden@blogspot.com
We did not have any beans this week. We do have a whopper of a zucchini like the one your dad is holding. I am going to make bread with it this morning. Yummy!
What a wonderful garden! And such healthy veggies! Your Dad is vey talented, I can’t seem to do as well…oh well, I’ll stick to painting! 😀
Chris
That’s indeed an enooormous zucchini! We also grow them here, but not that large… That’s a very nice garden you have, too. Thanks again for these interesting challenges.
Ah!Ha!
That is how you received your gardening abilities!
Alas…I come from non-gardener parents!
Keri,
But as children, my father *never* let us into the garden. We reaped the benefits of fresh veggies but he really wanted to do it all himself.
My love of gardening comes from my grandmother who let me putter, weed, water, and harvest in her abundant garden each summer. I miss her.
Barb-Harmony Art Mom