Green Beans!

I thought the green beans were long over.  I went to the plants to pull them out and was surprised to see the plants still bearing beans...some were really long.   I had no realized that they were still growing so I stopped checking on them.  I am glad I looked at them before pulling them out because I was able to pick 12 ounces (3/4 of a pound).  I blanched them and put them into the freezer for the winter.  I now have 3 full one gallon Ziploc freezer bags in the freezer for the winter.  That is pretty good for a $2 pack of seeds.  They were easy to grow and gave up without much effort. 

The variety I grew is called Tendergreen Bush Bean.  They need no staking which makes them easy to grow and to pick from.  I bought them from Seeds of Change and would grow them again.  I planted the seeds the week of May 17, 2010 and they were growing well and I picked my first pound of green beans on July 6, 2010.  Since then they have continued to grow and give.  I doubt there will be any more to pick this season but it was a wonderful surprise.  Picking the beans reminded me of why I garden  - the pleasure of seeing something hiding behind the leaves that you never thought you would find.  You work hard in the spring to get the beds ready and when you get one more harvest it is a great satisfying feeling and makes all of the hard work worth it.  The disappointments are many but one simple joyous moment makes it all worth it.

Here is the pick from today.

12 oz. Green Beans, 3 Cubanelle Peppers and 29 Cherry Tomatoes