I sing the praises of my 30” X 72” back and knee-saving stand planter. It has yielded early crops of lettuce, chard, basil, bok choi, bunching onions, parsley, oregano, more. But where it shines is in producing later crops, planted when the others have been harvested, leaving beautiful, rich soil that begs, “More, we can do more.” And we can.
Cover: Beans and carrots ready for the oven; photo by Sheila Velazquez.
Mid July is my favorite time to plant. Temperatures have moderated, and the comfortably warm days and cooler nights produce fast-growing greens and vegetables that will reach maturity and full production well before the first frost. They almost grow themselves. Soil retains sufficient moisture with light rains and dewy mornings, maybe only needing a few light waterings during the growing period.
Today I harvested my second batch of bush beans. There are hundreds of tiny beans remaining, and I will pick those that are ready every few days, they grow that fast.
All these beans cost me is a few minutes of time and $1.50 for a packet of seeds from Ocean State Job Lot in North Adams, my favorite store, in part because they discount seeds throughout the growing season. And I have bean seeds left over for next year.
I’ve paired my beans with carrots I purchased from Bigfoot (Brian Cole) of Bigfoot Farm at the Williamstown Farmers Market.
If you’d like to try this, snap the ends from the beans and then into smaller pieces and combine in a baking dish with peeled, cut carrots. Add a few Tbsp. of water, a few curls of butter, and spices. Here I used pepper, dill, and celery seed. Cover with lid or foil and bake.
Because the carrots and the beans are small and tender, I used the shortest cooking time, 45 min. at 350 degrees. Test at this point and bake up to an additional 15 minutes until tender to your taste. I freeze batches in small bags. A real treat in cold weather.
In a couple of weeks, the late crop of patio cucumbers will (hopefully) be ready, right around the time that I will be done with the beans. I love how that works.
