Dear Helen: In late summer, when some of the pods on my runner and pole bean vines develop past the juicy green bean stage, I let them dry and gather them for the dried beans in the withered pods. Are these beans suitable for use in baked bean recipes? I have read that they are not good for this use.
L.B.
I have heard the same caution about dried bush, pole and runner beans not being good for traditional baked bean dishes. Still, in a bout of gleeful frugality, and after my son was telling me of his love for baked beans on toast, I pulled out my little collection of dried beans taken, as you have done, from pole and runner beans that had dried on the vines.
I simply cooked about one cup of the beans tender, and added them to sauted onion and garlic before adding tomato sauce. I used a shakshuka sauce, a spiced, Middle Eastern version of traditional tomato sauce that I’d made last summer and frozen in containers.
For added flavour I added a little molasses and maple syrup, and one teaspoon dry mustard. I was pleased with the result and the ease of putting it all together. I like home-spiced beans on toast, as a side dish, and also as a base for cooking eggs in indentations made in the bean mixture — an easy breakfast.
Dear Helen: A few of my garlic plants have two thick, sturdy stems. Should I be doing anything about this oddity?
G.A.
This is not so unusual. I always have a few double-stemmed garlic plants. Sometimes, the papery covering on garlic cloves we plant in the fall conceal a division in the clove and two points of growth instead of one. The result is a double plant.
As garlic top growth develops in early spring and I spot these twin plants, I gently pull one of the pair out of the ground while pressing the soil down firmly around the other with the other hand. These garlic “thinnings” are delicious chopped finely into salads or added to stir-fry dishes.
Dear Helen: We are just starting to seed flowers and vegetables into our plots, which have been covered with leaves all winter. Should we rake them away or just add new soil on top before planting? C.D.
It is usually best to rake away most of the leaves. Small ones like cutleaf maple will have somewhat disintegrated, leaving debris fine enough to scratch into the soil as you prepare it for planting. I bag removed whole leaves to place as a soil-cooling, moisture-retaining mulch around plants as air temperatures and the soil begin heating up — hopefully, some time next month, unless we have a repeat of last year’s miserably cold spring and early summer.
Dear Helen: Can you suggest any plantings or some sort of material that would deter dogs, without harming them, from coming on to my property? I would prefer not to invest in fencing.
R.B.
Rolls of spiked plastic matting are available to deter unwanted creatures from coming into a garden. A few phone calls to your local hardware type stores may uncover a source. Lee Valley Tools sells the matting. You’ll find a description on their website.
Otherwise, planting prickly or thorny plants along points of entry the dogs are using would be helpful. While the plants are growing and filling out, you may need to set up a short, inconspicuous barrier along one side to complete the deterrence.
GARDEN EVENTS
Cowichan Valley plant sale. The Cowichan Valley Garden Club will hold its annual Spring Plant Sale at St. John’s Anglican Church, 486 Jubilee St. in Duncan on Saturday, April 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
HCP plant sale. The Horticulture Centre of the Pacific, 505 Quayle Rd. in Saanich, is hosting a Spring Plant Sale on Saturday and Sunday, April 29 and 30, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer questions. There will be many unique plants propagated from the HCP gardens. Check the web site for a list of available plants. hcp.ca.
Container vegetables. The Compost Education Centre, 1216 North Park St. in Victoria, is offering a workshop on Growing Vegetables in Containers on Saturday, April 29, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. For information and registration, call 250-386-9676, email [email protected], or go online at compost.bc.ca/publicworkshops.
