I think of them as “free” greens. Since early in the month, I’ve been picking fresh parsley and miner’s lettuce from along a vegetable plot edge, where the plants perpetuate themselves by self-sowing.
The bright green parsley patch brings to mind one of my son’s favourite cooking projects when he was a boy. We would pick parsley from the garden to wash and mince with scissors for mixing into Spaghetti alla Carbonara.
Simply put, this dish is made by mixing beaten eggs and melted butter into pasta hot enough to cook the eggs. Grated parmesan cheese, chopped parsley and crispy bacon pieces finish off the dish. Garlic lovers can add finely minced garlic to the butter as it melts.
For children. Home-bound conditions of social restriction have parents busy seeking learning opportunities for their children. Domestic skills can be part of a child’s education at this time. Children of every age can achieve varied levels of skill in house cleaning, sewing, gardening and cooking.
In the garden, children might like to consider setting up a tepee for growing climbing beans. Bamboo poles are often used to set up a bean tepee. They are set in the ground in a circle, angled toward the centre and tied close to the top.
A tepee can be fashioned with as few as three poles, but five or more are more commonly used, especially if the children and helping adult choose to create a sort of “hideaway” space in the middle.
Poles around 2.4 metres long will accommodate pole and runner bean vines and allow for an inside space. Set the poles in the ground at an even distance apart, leaving a wider space for the hideaway entrance.
Once a tepee is set up, I run two or three tiers of string from pole to pole, close to the tepee base, leaving the entrance clear. The string will support the vines as they begin to climb.
Prepare the soil for planting, and sow the seeds around the tepee base.
One plant, three crops. Beans of various kinds are easy-growing, popular vegetables for home gardens. Keep in mind that bush and pole beans need solid warmth to germinate and grow well. Plant the seeds when air and soil temperatures have thoroughly warmed and night temperatures no longer dip below 10 C.
Runner beans are different. They grow and produce best in cooler conditions. While heat-hungry beans are usually seeded in May, runner beans can be sown this month. Both pole and runner beans give a long harvest season if the beans are picked regularly.
Near the end of summer, I often do not keep up with the bean picking as well as I’d like. When pods are left too long unpicked, the seeds within them begin to swell and the beans are no longer in prime shape for eating as green pods.
All is not lost though. In fact, two more crops are possible from those beans. When the seeds within the pods have swelled to a satisfying plumpness, they can be taken from the pods, steamed tender, and eaten as “shell” beans with butter and salt. This is a personal favourite side dish.
If the freshly plump shell bean stage is missed and the bean pods are left to mature long enough for the seeds to start hardening, the pods can be left to fully dry on the vines. Pick the dry pods while the weather is still fair and not yet turned damp, and store them in a dry, airy spot to await shelling and using as dry beans.
Because they are grown on an upright support — on netting, wire fencing, or a tepee-like structure — they take up little garden space. They do not require vast quantities of water and they offer the possibility of three separate crops. These plants are paragons of thrift, productivity, and gustatory delight.
Help from Master Gardeners. Victoria Master Gardeners have set up a service to help new gardeners get started and to answer gardening questions. Email them at info@msvmga.org. On their website (victoriamastergardeners.org) is a section of answers to questions asked at their clinics. Access it by clicking on You Asked Us.
GARDEN EVENT
HCP plant sale. The Horticulture Centre of the Pacific, 505 Quayle Rd. in Saanich, is proceeding with its annual spring plant sale but by placing phone or online orders and picking up at HCP. For details on how the vehicle pick-up program works, and a plant list, go to https://hcp.ca/spring-plant-sale-pick-up-program/.
