Tag: food

Long-term

October 23, 2024

I have mentioned how most of my vegetables have matured and stopped producing.  The exceptions are the pole beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) representing the last of my three sisters’ harvest.  They started late but now still provide several cups of beans every few days.  The raised beds are empty except for the 5 rattlesnake watermelons (Citrullus lanatus) struggling to mature, the 2 late starting green bell peppers (Capsicum annuum), and the 2 red okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) that produce beyond their limit.  There are also 8 cabbages that are finally picking up as the temperatures cool.  I really did not expect much from my tomatoes as the heat kept them from much production during the summer (I did get 3 jars of pasta sauce).  The friend I swap gardening stories with said she tore her tomatoes and peppers out several months ago to avoid having to water them.  We are having temperature shifts as the nights get into the 40’s (4.5+C) and the days get to the high 80’s (27+C), causing a resurgence of my San Marzano and plum tomatoes, making me wonder what to expect in long-term production.

When I looked online, I found that depending on their maturation date, “indeterminate” tomato (Lycopersicon lycopersicum) cultivars are the best long-term producers and will yield tomatoes for two to three months.  “Determinate” tomatoes, including dwarf and bush cultivars, typically only yield tomatoes for around two weeks after they blossom.  Tomatoes are grown as perennials in tropical climates and as annuals in USDA plant hardiness zones 2 through 10.  Traditional and heirloom indeterminate tomato cultivars continue to grow taller throughout the growing season and will reach heights of 5 to 8 feet (1.5 to 2.5 m) and typically require support with a wire tomato cage or stakes.  They grow flowers and yield tomatoes from shoots or “suckers” that grow on the sides of their main stem from the time they mature and flower until the first autumn frost.  The best long-term producing cultivars are those that mature early and grow in an area with a long growing season.

Most cultivated tomatoes in my area (zone 7) are planted soon after the last spring frost (c. April 15) and the fruit is expected sometime between 57 to 100 days after the seedling is planted.  If you plant an indeterminate tomato cultivar, you are encouraged to prune the vines regularly to maintain a long harvest of large, quality tomatoes.  I have done this in the past, but I have only done this sporadically this year.  The University of Arizona horticulturalists recommend pruning all but three or four of the shoots that grow in a tangle inside the cage and allow the foliage to protect the fruit from the sun.  If you don’t prune the suckers, these stems consume a lot of a plant’s energy and may result in smaller yields and fewer tomatoes (like I saw).  I did use 4 foot (1.2 m) cages but as the season went on the plants far exceeded that height.  I found out the San Marzano I planted for pasta sauce are a larger variety of plum tomatoes (I planted both) and are some of the better plants in long-term production.

THOUGHTS: As the temperatures dropped, I quit the daily watering I maintained throughout the summer and removed the dying vegetable plants one by one as they ceased production.  A month ago, I was tempted to tear out all of my tomatoes as they had essentially stopped producing fruit but kept them to see what the long-term might bring.  Now they are again producing blossoms and fruit.  I had little to lose when I took a long-term approach in my vegetable garden.  If the plants failed to produce, I would not have been out much in terms of time and water.  Since they did produce, I will reap the benefit of fresh tomatoes into the fall.  Corporations seem less willing to take a long-term approach toward products or employees.  If the product does not make a quick profit, it is dropped.  If the employee does not prove productive, they are let go.  While moving from one product to the next might make economic sense, employees should not be used as expendable.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

2nd Sister

September 24, 2024

I was excited over the weekend when I went out to check the remnants of the three sisters planting to find the pole beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) had finally begun to produce.  I have mentioned the poor production for the 1st sister, corn (Zea mays var. rugosa), with only dried kernels suitable for grinding or bird food.  That was followed by an ok harvest of the 3rd sister, Butternut squash (Cucurbita moschata), which produced 7 gourds.  It has now been nearly a month and while there were lots of flowers and buds, I had not seen any beans hanging from the vines until last weekend.  The vines had been growing well, even causing some of the drying corn stalks to collapse and again lay on the ground.  I felt lucky for having staked the stalks after their infamous “leaning” event in July.  I knew at least some of the stalks would be able to stand despite the weight of the bean vines.  Yesterday I decided to see if I could find anything worth harvesting among the twisted vines.  I was anxious to see the result from the 2nd sister.

When I looked online, I found the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is an herbaceous annual plant grown worldwide for its edible dry seeds or green, unripe pods.  The bean’s botanical classification (as all Phaseolus species) is a member of the legume family Fabaceae.  Common beans acquire the nitrogen they require through an association with rhizobia (like most Fabaceae), or nitrogen-fixing bacteria.  The bean has a long history of cultivation with the wild Phaseolus vulgaris native to the Americas.  It was originally believed that it had been domesticated separately in Mesoamerica and in the southern Andes region 8000 years ago, giving the domesticated bean two gene pools.  Recent genetic analyses show that it was first domesticated in Mexico, and then split into the Mesoamerican and Andean gene pools.  As the 2nd sister (by planting order), maize (corn), beans, and squash are the three Mesoamerican crops that constitute the “Three Sisters” that were central to the indigenous agriculture.  All wild members of the species are climbing, but many cultivars are now classified as bush beans or climbing beans, depending on their style of growth.  Beans are grown on every continent except Antarctica, and during 2022, there were 28 million tons (28000 kt) of dry beans produced worldwide, led by India with 23% of the total.  The common bean arrived in Europe as part of the Columbian exchange, the widespread transfer of plants, animals, commodities, precious metal, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the New World (the Americas) and the Old World (Afro-Eurasia) in the late 15th and following centuries.

While I had (inadvertently) planted bush beans in my raised beds, I planted pole beans as my 2nd sister.  I have mentioned how bush beans are preferable for commercial cultivars as the fruit tends to ripen at the same time (yes, beans are another fruit that is eaten as a vegetable).  I harvested the bush beans last week and got a small return (the bowl in picture).  Unlike the bush beans I planted in the raised bed, the pole beans are expected to provide a continuous harvest throughout the growing cycle.  I look forward to several more weeks of harvest from my 2nd sister.    

THOUGHTS:  I was pleased with the harvest from the 2nd sister.  The first pick of pole beans yielded over 6 quarts of processed green beans.  I flash froze 4 quarts and plan for the other 2 quarts to be mixed with onions, bacon, and the Yukon Gold potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) I harvested earlier this month, for a meal later this week.  This Thanksgiving, I plan on providing a green bean casserole for the family using my home grown beans.  This is one of the joys I find in (trying) to provide subsistence agriculture.  While there are trials (i.e., the other sisters) in growing your own food, they make the successes sweeter.  This also forces me to explore a variety of preservation techniques.  Life-long learning is a good thing.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.