I got ahead of myself in my last post and forgot to post the picture I took of the prolificity of my Turkey Craw beans, so I decided rather than go back and add the picture I'd just post specifically about them and a few other varieties that I love.
According to the stories, the Turkey Craw bean originated when an hunter somewhere in Appalachia shot a turkey and found an interesting bean in the craw. He planted it, saved seed, and the variety was born. It's a bean you have to hunt for or stumble across, but it is available from a few sources:
Sustainable Mountain Agriculture Center
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
The Turkey Craw bean is one of the most beautiful and unusual looking beans, in my opinion. It's listed in most sources as a cornfield bean, and is touted as being stringless and of a good flavor for snap beans. Unfortunately, I missed that stage this year. I don't know yet how they'll do in drought, but with this year's rain they certainly were abundant.
I love the colorful names we've given our southern vegetable varieties. I grow them as much for that reason as any. Here are a few of my favorites, some of which I grow and some I haven't tried yet.
- Mule Team tomato
- Arkansas Traveler tomato
- Blue Goose pea
- Trucker's Favorite corn
- Lena Cisco's Bird Bean
- Texas Homestead bean(the original name of the Kentucky Wonder)
- Rattlesnake bean
- Nebraska Wedding tomato (I'm assuming, based on it's wonderful name, that it must be from "southern" Nebraska. At any rate it's a salute to the other half of my genealogy, my Nebraska Czech heritage. I'm exactly 1/2 Czech, 1/2 Texan, born an Okie and southern as they come.)
- Sheepnose apple
Here's a belated but better picture of my mixed pole bean harvest
I found no interesting tidbits for today, just an uplifting verse from our Lord's word:
"Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." James 5:7-8
Till next time, Blessings,
Judy
3 comments:
Judy,
I enjoyed reading your posts. I still have so much to learn on heirloom seeds. I still have so much to learn on everything!!! Your blog gives me encouragment, and I can only pray that in several years the Lord will continue blessed our homestead to grow as yours has.
Blessings, The Antes
Thank you so much Kris. You have the gift of kindness, and I will join you in that prayer.
Judy
Judy,
I, too, enjoy reading all your posts and learn much from them. Though I grew up on a dairy farm and instintively know much from my youth; I still know homesteading and getting started/maintaining everything on the scale you are doing would be challenging, especially starting after the age of 51! We have some land 17.5 acres, a beaver pond so perhaps a spring?, and a large lake is 1/4 mile away as a water resource if a well had to wait, etc. But, though my own desires/dreams are strong to homestead, my spouses aren't the same, so I make due on the .57 acre lot we have.
My real purpose for this post though, was to ask if that was hog panels supporting the beans?? I've used 2 cut up hog panels a bit in my garden that I originally used as a 4x4 indoor dog kennel for our yellow lab when she was a pup. Being born in Sept. she needed to be indoors that first winter. The panels have made good cucumber trellises, etc. and 3 supported 1 heirloom brandywine tomatoe this year. I had intended to buy more panels this spring, but budget has been tight. The large upper openings make for easy harvesting of even big tomatoes, though!
May God continue to bless all your efforts, Judy!
Beth
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