What seeds have I blessed with life today? Beans, beans, and more beans (Actually some nasturtiums too...no matter). It's almost unbelievable how a plant appears from these inconspicuous tiny seeds. In BIO 220 we learned about this one scientist who wanted to figure out where plant matter came from. He carefully measured the amount of soil present when the seed was planted, and after it reached maturity. Much to his surprise there was no difference in the two measurements. Life from (practically) nothing. Sometimes I wish I could photosynthesize too and feed off the infinite energy from the sun. Except I love "real" food too much to give up. Plus, where would I be now if there was no need for a garden? Probably slouching in some cubicle not having nearly as much fun as I am now.
Anyways, the beans are presently happy nestled in the warm earth, their new home for the moment. Unfortunately for them, I can take life just as easy as I can give it away. And that is exactly what I plan on doing Not without reason, of course. All living things must kill for their own survival; even vegans. And so these beans will become the protein necessary for my survival in a few months time. There will no shortage of beans in august, that is for certain.
One packet of Lancaster Brown beans (from Happy Cat Farm), one packet of New Mexican Cave Beans (Happy Cat Farm), and two packets of Blue Lake 272 bush beans (Burpee) are now in the ground. What does 272 even mean? Is that a secret code? They are organic beans but are they genetically modified? or is that just an easy way for Burpee to name them. eating 272 beans is a bit unappealing, but the picture is pretty. I must remind myself to look into that.
The Happy Cat Farm seed packets are actually quite entertaining to read. They give you quite a little story, though not much at all about how to plant them (how far apart? how deep? how much sun? how much water?) so I did my best. I've found that as incredulous as it is for a plant to grow from this tiny speck, and even with my inexperience, these seeds are up for anything and seem to be pretty resilient. Let me just take a minute to share with you these seeds' stories:
"Lancaster Brown Bean is only a working name until we can determine the true lineage of this bean. The provenance of my bean is from the collection of David Haas (my grandfather) of Lancaster County, PA. I gave some of these beans to William Woys Weaver, and he had no idea what they were, so if anyone knows what they are please let us know. This is a very tasty dried bean with a light brown color"
" New Mexican cave bean an archeological team from UCLA came upon these beans. The beans were in a clay pot sealed with pine tar and were determined by radio carbon dating to be over 1,500 years old. The flavor is nutty with a hint of smokiness."
Anyways, now all the beds are planted. I suppose the majority of the labor from now on is weeding. whoop dee do. I wish we had a bit more room to plant the Hopi Blue Dent corn, seeds that were given to us by a recent graduate. The smoky blue color of the kernels intrigue me greatly. I could've sacrificed some of the bean space. However, different varieties of corn, i've learned, are supposed to be planted at least 40 feet apart to prevent cross-pollination. Being that our whole garden is about that long from end to end, planting the blue corn wansn't a feasible option. I suppose i'll leave the seeds for the enjoyment of next season's gardeners.
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