We Have Some Lima Beans!

In the last garden update I told you I had given up on the lima beans. I have planted them in three different places for three years to no avail. But I was wrong this time! Yea! There are times in life that we are glad we are wrong and this is one of them.

I planted a speckled variety of lima bean in late May. We had some late, cold, wet weather and they didn't germinate real well. 

So, in June I planted more seeds in the places that were bare. It was a standard green variety since I had planted the last of the speckled variety in May. I thought I could compare notes if either kind produced some beans.

 
Well, they grew, and grew, and grew - beautiful vines tucked back in by the building, behind the sweet potatoes and green beans.

I checked them regularly for a while and found nothing. So I quit looking much. In September when I did a garden update the only thing I noticed were some of the flat pods that had no beans, so I quit looking.

Then last night as I was wandering through the weeds in the garden I thought I would look at them one more time. The vines are still beautiful and thick. 

I lifted some of them aside and found a bunch of dried pods.

I figured they were empty.

So I was surprised when I broke them open and found a few beans. Some were speckled and some were green.....

I was very pleasantly surprised. So this evening I picked all I could find.

 

And started to shell them......
 

I figured they had cross pollinated, but I wasn't ready to see these big, pale speckled beans! They are really neat looking. Some of them are small and some are much bigger than expected.

Some had three beans, but most only had two. Is that normal? I don't know.

 

 This one had even started sprouting. If it wasn't so late in the year, I would plant it to see if it would grow.

 
When I got all of them shelled, I came up with three cups of beans. Aren't they beautiful?

Guess what we're having for dinner tomorrow night? I hope they taste as good as they look! Since this is the first time I've ever actually grown them, we don't know what they taste like yet.
 

Life is full of surprises. Some of them good, some of them not-so-good, and some of them bad. Do everything you can to prepare yourself, your family, your friends and neighbors for what is coming. Don't let it catch you by surprise. You don't want to be caught unprepared when faced with something bad, or it may be too overwhelming to manage. Spend much time in prayer and contemplation. You will be led to do what is most important for you. Ponder. Pray. Prioritize. Then get busy. The time is short.

Until next time - Fern