The Road Home

The Road Home
There is no place like home.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

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
 

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for all your posts. You mention a lot about the country changing and being prepared. Wanting to do many things but only having time and money for so much can leave me feeling anxious, so I loved the reminder of praying and being led by God in what activities we choose. This week I spent a lot of time making birthday gifts for a couple of my 7th grade daughter's friends (pillow cases with hand embroidered names). I sometimes thought I should be making and canning applesauce instead, although we would have to buy the apples from a local orchard. But after contemplating this suggestion I am reassured. We are in the process of trying to cut back our finances, and this was the first birthday party my daughter went to with the new uber low gift limit. We went over the limit a little, but my daughter had fun picking the fabric out and really liked the finished product. Possibly the time was well spent imparting a life lesson of giving from the heart rather than just a dollar amount. Then today the push was in me to get back to the garden, tend it, glean a bit more if possible, nurse it through as many more days as possible before it freezes. And I started a batch of applesauce. :) When I read your posts I feel like I am pulling up a chair in my grandparents kitchen.

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    Replies
    1. Eileen,

      What a great idea for birthday gifts! Not only just for gifts, but for precious time spent with your daughter making memories that last a life time.

      Everything comes in due season with the Lord. I bet your applesauce will bring blessings to your family as well.

      Blessings to you,

      Fern

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