Greetings, All
Black Beans
When I cooked from our garden and the market, for day 14, I discovered something. I pulled ONE plant of black beans determined to use that for dinner. It yielded 1/4 of black beans. That with ONE cob of corn, ONE green pepper, and quite a few cherry tomatoes, yielded a stuffed pepper for two. No rice.
So, how many bean plants do I need for enough DRIED or SHELL beans to get through the winter? I have no idea how many dried beans I use, but I started looking for ideas online. I found this from a vegetarian permaculture farmer who eats 1/2 kilo of shell beans a day.
“The figure I found for planting annual bush beans, kidney and pinto and white, says about 600 plants per 10 square meters, theoretically resulting in around 10 kilos of dry beans. So, doing a little more math, it seems I’m figuring about 60 plants per square meter resulting in one kilo/two days of dried beans to eat. That equates to about 130 square meters of growing space needed annually to produce the prescribed beans.”
OK. A square meter is about 40 x 40 inches, so, about 155 square yards for enough bean/protein for an entire year for two people. That is more than the 8 -10 plants per person recommended by one site, and 15 by another. 155 yards square is 1/2 of my garden and would preclude many other vegetables. Still need space for potatoes, corn, tomatoes, etc. I don’t think my garden is large enough to grow enough beans for one year. Better get some chickens.
Or maybe, dig more beds for beans and let the squash climb.
Does anyone let their squash climb? Is the vine and arbor strong enough to support a bunch of acorn, butternut plants and fruit? Or a fence?
Questions, questions. But, that is what we are here for, right? Ask questions, get answers, and share with everyone so we all learn.
Enjoy your Septembers.