GA: Southern bean patch has anthracnose -- ~half beans inedible

The southern bean patch has anthracnose -- at least I'm pretty sure that's what it is -- the beans are covered in very unappealing brown spots.  About half the beans in this patch are so badly affected that they're completely inedible.  Some aren't affected at all.

The other bean patches including L's don't seem to be affected.

Still getting plenty enough harvest for several batches of the bread recipe.

GA: Flops (partial) so far: Includes cukes, beans, watermelons, a tomatillo, and a tomato

Here are the flops at GA so far -- at least they're just partial flops at this point:

- Cukes:  3 or 4 of the little transplants died, no idea why.  Could there be a cutworm?  I don't have pencil crayons with the cukes.

- Watermelon:  Thinking I'd be smart and start from seed onsite rather than transplants (since last year most of the transplants went kaput within a day or two of transplanting) -- well, not having great results with the pre-sprouted seeds.  Next year, plant 2 or 3 PSSs per location!

- Beans:  WTH!?!  Some of the new pops look diseased or something, kaput!

- Tomato:  One wimpy transplant went kaput, not really surprised.

- Tomatillo:  One wimpy transplant went kaput, not really surprised.

Argh -- the dry beans from last fall have weevils!! (Only the GA ones I think)

Noticed today that several of the jars of beans saved from last year have weevils inside the jars!  And escape holes in some of the beans -- including weevils inside a jar that had only pods that I had carefully inspected that I didn't see any suspicious holes in.

This definitely has me inclined to NOT do dried beans from GA anymore, only from the yard where I don't seem to have had this issue (knock on wood).

Although I guess I could always leave the dried beans for a year, during which hopefully any critters would have emerged, then remove those and eat the remaining beans..... 

GA: Bush beans didn't put out fall flowers!

Weird -- normally I find the bush beans put out a second round of flowers/beans in late summer / into fall -- that didn't happen this year.  Maybe the lack of rain was an issue especially since I didn't keep watering them after the first harvest (but the plants still survived).

GA: Bush bean harvest in full swing!

^^^

GA: FOY bush beans!

 That's about 65 days counting back to the first ones started May 24th, though there have been a few rounds since then, so who knows which these are from.

GA: More sweet corn started in PTs (for succession), and more beans started in PTs (to fill in gaps)

^^^

GA: Beans (pole and bush) soaking overnight, then into soil next day (NO VERMICULITE / NO WAITING FOR GERMINATION BEFORE SOWING)

^^^

Started scarlet runner beans for yard

First soaked then in water for ~6 hours.

Then placed in damp vermiculite in a margarine container.

Once they sprout, I'll put them out in the yard, using the plastic half-cups from last year to keep the pill beetles from devouring them.

(Will start the GA runner beans later.)

GA: Some pole beans look yellow / unhappy

Especially the southern pole of the tripod.  I think I planted the beans before I had the condo compost, so maybe they're lacking stuff.  Anyway, we'll see what happens.

The pill beetles are the ones decimating the beans!!!!!! Not the slugs!

Yet again this year, the beans have been devoured by something, as soon as they came up.  I've planted dozens of pole bean seeds, yet only maybe 5 are actually growing, and they look not great either.

But anyway, I've been doing slug patrol nightly for the past several nights (soooo many slugs in the yard) and wasn't seeing a ton of slugs on the beans.  But tonight, my suspicions proved correct when I saw that the newest bean to pop out of the ground is absolutely covered by pill beetles!!  They are having such a feast!!  Sighhhhhh.

So, with the latest beans that sprouted inside in paper towels, today I put them into the pink rectangle thing with three rows -- with garden soil inside.  The tray isn't very deep, so I don't know how well this will work, but my plan is to let them grow there until they're a few inches tall with a few leaves on them, then transplant them, because the pill beetles don't seem interested in the older ones, just the newest ones.

Bush beans round one started; have been starting more pole beans

Started enough "Pencil Pod" bush beans for 9 square feet by putting them in a bowl of water today.

And, have been starting more pole beans over recent days because my first method of a big bin of vermiculite didn't work well -- most of those beans rotted.  What HAS been working well is after pre-soaking, placing them in smaller things of vermiculite, and covering with a towel for darkness.

Pole beans for yard soaked in water overnight tonight

Two varieties of pole beans for the yard:

- Scarlet Runner (from package seeds)

- Kentucky Wonder Wax (from package seeds left over from last year)

Yes, DO freeze blanched green/yellow beans again -- they steam up fine

^^^

Bush beans sowed July 23rd/30th now starting to have harvestable beans (fresh not dried)

That's 8.5-9 weeks to harvest.

Allotment: Bush bean's second harvest (from first set of plants) happening now

Very cool!  I had read that bush beans will often produce a second, smaller flowering/harvest after the first, so it's good to leave the plants in place.  Indeed, the second flowering happening a while ago, and the harvest from that is now underway!

Starting to harvest Scarlet Runner beans (dried)

Two pods look maybe-ready, so I harvested one today.  It was brown, felt like paper and was harder to open than KWW, definitely a different feel overall.  But the beans inside seemed pretty dry.  And pretty, ooooh!  I'll leave the other for a while to see if it gets cracky like the KWWs.

No other Scarlets look ready yet -- all are green.

Starting to harvest dried Kentucky Wonder Wax pole beans

And hmmm, after shelling them, it's not looking like a lot of beans!  Will wait to weigh them until all have been harvested.

Setting these out on a kitchen towel to fully dry off.

The scarlet runner beans don't seem anywhere near dried yet.

Bush beans sowed July 23rd/30th now have baby beans (in-ground as well as containers)

Fun!  I imagine these will all get harvested as green (yellow) beans since unlikely to be enough time to dry out.

Allotment: Bush beans are starting second flowering

Neat!  It's my first year trying bush beans and I had heard that they often give a second flush.