Friday, August 08, 2014

The first beans

Our green beans are starting to produce and I picked the first batch of the season on Wednesday. We steamed them and had them with lunch. Boy, were they delicious! I picked another bunch, a little more than these, again on Thursday. If all goes well, we should have a very good crop this year. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Haricots verts (green beans) trimmed and rinsed, ready for the steamer.

We've been eating zucchini for a while now, but the plants are producing very slowly. I'm not sure why, but I had the same problem last year. I'm not using the same seeds from last year, so I know it's not that. I may change the way I plant them next year so I can weed around them more easily.

13 comments:

  1. they look great, walt!

    spouse picked more grape tomatoes yesterday, and the first big boy tomato is almost ripe for picking!

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  2. Ooooh, they look so crisp and fresh!

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  3. Walt,
    I LOVE fresh green beans, al dente.
    Ron

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  4. Those harrycoes look m'wonderful...

    BUT... slow producing courgettes?
    How much manure do you give them to grow in?
    And how much water?
    We have four rounds [one Rond de Nice and three Iceball] and they are producing two sizeable courgettes each every two days...
    There are two Precoce Marchaire [Lebanese club type] which produce one or two each every day...
    And then there are the two Yellow Crooknecks...
    two a day each...
    current harvest from eight plants averages eight kilos a day....
    just about to harvest ours for today.
    Before the darkening clouds decide to dump!

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  5. Very nice and crispy beans indeed. Have you tried preparing them the following way: blanch them so that they still have some bite to them, let them cool in the fridge, preferably overnight. The next day, just before serving them, stir in a generous helping of mayonnaise and (optional) some finely chopped spring onions and parsley. Excellent with new pan-fried new potatoes and a sausage or a steak! Sorry if I told you something you already know :)

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  6. Moi, je les fais cuire lentement, dans une cocote en fonte (et pas à l'autocuiseur vapeur), avec des tomates, du thym, de l’origan, des lardons préalablement revenus. En une heure de cuisson, ils sont croquants comme vous les aimez. En une heure trente, ils sont moelleux comme je les préfère :-).

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    1. Olivier, voici ma façon préférée de faire cuire les haricots verts : http://ckenb.blogspot.fr/2009/05/green-beans-cooked-with-tomatoes.html. C'est une recette de Monique Maine dans Cuisine pour toute l'année. Je suis tenté par l'idée d'ajouter des lardons.

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  7. How are your pole beans making out? Ours love the damp weather and are producing a meal for two every couple of days. I realised that some beans I thought were green beans were actually runner beans and I'd been treating them all wrong, which was why they weren't producing. I sprayed them with water yesterday lunchtime and there are lots of little beans today that were flowers yesterday. I think the courgettes and pumpkins have discovered a dead - and buried - cow, they are growing so lush and green. .

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  8. there is nothing so seraphic as the first vegetables from the garden!

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  9. anne marie, I hope to see pictures!

    judy, right off the vine... er, plant.

    ron, I like mine cooked a little more, although a little crunch can be good depending on the dish.

    tim, they're growing in compost, but I may have planted them too close. They need more room.

    martine, I haven't tried that, but it sounds good!

    gosia, and they were!

    olivier, moi, je les préfère moelleux comme vous. Et votre recette est très proche de ce que nous appellons les haricots verts à l'italienne.

    pauline, the pole beans are just starting to make little beans. I have two varieties: runners and yellow pole beans.

    michael, you can say that again. I think.

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    1. Walt, I said manure....
      not compost, it isn't rich enough and doesn't hold enough water for rapid growth.
      Also, as the damp and cold has reduced the number of insects around,
      try tickling the female flowers with the stamens of a male...
      and Pauline suggests a dose of tomato food per plant.

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    2. I never thought I would need to know how to sex a bean plant, but obviously I do, for the future that is !!

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