Garden Update-Beans

We have been working really hard trying to get a good harvest and I am fairly pleased.  It has been a lot of hard work, but it is paying off.  Here are some photos.

This is a view of the Indian Corn, onions, beans, tomatoes and cabbage.  We grew eleven varieties of beans:  White Half Runner, Pink Half Runner, Christmas Lima, Gold Rush Yellow Wax, Yard Long, Missouri Wonder, Scarlet Runners, one I can't remember the name, Greasy Beans, Tenderettes, and Roma II, two varieties of corn, a couple different tomatoes.  My favorite bean is still the white Half-Runner, but we wanted to experiment and several people had shared their beans with me. 

The first planting is finished, with the exception of the Limas, the Missouri Wonders and the bean I don't recall the name of.   We planted a second crop about a week ago and with the rains, they are already well on their way.  The second planting is another round of White Half Runners, Greasy Beans, Tenderettes and Roma II.

I decided with all the work of white half runners, I will grow me some to eat and can, but not a lot, because my family doesn't like beans too well.  We will plant a string less, bush variety to cut down on the work.  It was an all day job to pick, string, break and then can the beans. 

Also, we liked Gold Rush Yellow Wax beans.  They had a taste that was as good as the White Half Runner, and we got a bushel out of a five foot row.  They are string less and pretty in the jars.  Here is a photo of some of green beans in the jars with a jar of the Gold Rush in front.  Aren't they pretty?

These were the oddest bean in the garden.  I was given a small bag of seeds and it was very prolific.  I got a bushel and a half of these beans, but because I knew nothing about them, they had mostly dried up before I realized it.  (I was waiting for them to get  a yard long.  LOL)  They seemed to be a bush bean with some runners.  The beans grew on top of the plant like spiders.  The pods were long and dark.  Someone told me these were yard longs, but photos of yard longs online were actually about a yard long.  These only got to be about 8 inches long.  The blossoms came out one day and were a beautiful blue and wilted after that.  The plant smelled very sweet and it was constantly buzzing with flies, bugs and moths.  I don't know what they are, and they didn't really appeal to me either.  I may not know what I missed.  This was the most unusual bean in my garden.

The most beautiful blooms in the garden was on the Scarlet Runner Bean.  It's beautiful red blossoms attracted a lot of attention.  I probably should say too much attention, as I didn't get to eat the first bean.  I don't know if someone picked them, they didn't make (although I found five hidden, hanging at the bottom) or animals got them.  Any way it went-I didn't get to try them.  Probably just as well, the beans that did make had fuzzy pods and didn't appeal to me either.

We are really enjoying the fruits of our labors and I will update about the other good things from the garden tomorrow.

The Importance of Discretion in Preparedness

I watched a couple of Youtube videos last night.  It was a three part series from "The Twilight Zone".  The Twilight Zone was filmed back in 1959 while our country was first developing nuclear bombs.  It was an age of innocence really.  Rod Sterling, the show's creator stretched the bounds of the human mind at that time.  But the show, "The Shelter", is probably pretty true to what would happen and what has happened in true emergencies.

The show opens with several couples celebrating Doc's birthday at his home.  They toast Doc and tell him how much they hold him in regard.  They tease him about the noise he made while creating his "shelter".  These couples have been friends for years.  Suddenly, the party is interrupted by an announcement telling people to go home and prepare, unidentified objects are heading toward the USA and they think it is bombs. 

The remaining 20 minutes or so of the show, show the uglier, deeper side of human beings with faced with the possibility of death.  Where friends will turn on you.  Watch these three clips at Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ei7Gr-0uNU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTdDfegVBC0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLNMZjUf0wk&feature=related

Discretion in your preparedness efforts could be vital to your survival.  In an emergency, others could take what you have so carefully prepared.  So, my prepared household, go about your daily lives and prepare for the worst, but don't share specifics with even close friends, unless you are preparing for them as well.

Preparedness Pro the Ultimate in Preparedness Wisdom

I know I have talked about the Preparedness Pro before, but I wanted to mention them again.  While we are out in the garden (doing our preparedness efforts) and feeding the animals (again-preparedness), and the Prepared Household is empty, I wanted you all to stay informed.  And now I have some incentive.  Preparedness Pro is having a contest right now.  So if you will go to this link:  http://www.preparednesspro.com/ and sign up on their RSS feed or Facebook page and comment telling them that the Prepared Household sent you and I get entered for a prize.  You can turn around and blog about it and send others and be entered for a prize when they join the site.  There are a few other ways you can enter, so please do.  Not only is Kellene Bishop very knowledgeable, I have known her to be right on the pulse of what is going on today in preparedness.

So hop on over to the Preparedness Pro and hopefully we can both win some prizes.  Even if you don't win anything, you can be absolutely sure you will learn a lot about preparedness.  Good luck in all your efforts.

An herbal first aid kit ~ Introducing "Prepare with Me"

Sorry I have been outside a lot lately and the Prepared Household is a bit empty these days.  I thought I would invite a good friend of mine (a preparedness guru in Georgia) to be a guest blogger.  She graceously gave me permission to share her knowledge from her blog any time.   

One of the skills she possesses that I envy is  that she is VERY knowledgeable in herbs (among many other things).  She recently spoke about an herbal first aid kit and I thought that was very interesting.  I asked her about it and here is her "Alternative First Aid" response.  So please give a warm Prepared Household welcome to a website with wisdom: 

http://preparewithme.blogspot.com/2010/06/alternative-first-aid.html.