Beans - An Overseas Guest In The Legume Family (part 2)

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

About the main preferences of beans

1. Beans are very thermophilic plants (they grow rapidly at daytime temperatures of about 20 … 25 ° С), therefore, it is difficult to get their harvest in cold summer outdoors. Even in the conditions of the Moscow region in the spring, it is advisable to cover the beans with a film and place them in places protected from the winds, and there is no need to talk about the Urals. Without a greenhouse, in which it is warmer, and the plants are protected from the wind and from excessive destructive moisture in addition, in the conditions of the Urals, not every summer you can enjoy a bountiful harvest of beans.

2. Beans prefer warm, friable fertile soils, rich in humus, with a light texture and neutral reaction. Therefore, she really likes the "layered" greenhouse soil. The looseness of the soil will help support the usual mulching (best with leaves or stale sawdust).

3. The root system of bush beans is located at the same depth as that of tomatoes, but the plant also has a taproot with small branches, which can (if, of course, there is such an opportunity) penetrate to a depth of one meter, naturally, in the open soil. Therefore, high ridges are preferable. Of course, it is unrealistic to form a ridge with a height of 1 m in a greenhouse, but it is still desirable to provide 45-50 cm.

4. Beans are a very light-demanding plant. Therefore, it is extremely unwise to plant it densely, only if for decorative purposes (of course, beans are not planted for decorative purposes in a greenhouse). I prefer to plant it in one row along the outer side of the greenhouse at a distance of about 30 cm from each other (although officially it is believed that it can be thicker: at a distance of 15-20 cm). It's just that a dozen plants are more than enough for us.

5. Beans love moisture, especially during seed germination and flowering (formation and growth of ovaries). Therefore, in no case should the soil dry out.

6. True, in the conditions of our unkind climate, we often have to fear cold and rainy weather, in which beans are affected by fungal diseases. It is quite difficult to avoid these troubles. To make beans forget about bad weather, you need to use growth stimulants Epin and Silk, and Immunocytophyte will help to protect against diseases and increase immunity in plants.

What if the flowers fall?

Although vegetable beans are self-pollinating plants, the fall of both flowers and ovaries has to be observed quite often. Beans shed flowers at every "opportunity", in other words, any unfavorable factors may be the reason.

1. Despite the thermophilicity of plants, it must be borne in mind that when the temperature rises above 300C, a strong fall of flowers is possible. Obviously, in this case, one cannot count on a large harvest. In fact, this is the trouble of many plants. Therefore, do not forget about sufficient ventilation of the greenhouse. Spraying with fruit-forming stimulants Gibbersib, Ovary or Bud will not hurt. I think it will not be difficult to ensure these measures. For example, I spray tomatoes, and beans at the same time.

It practically does not require additional time.

2. Falling flowers is possible even with excessive dryness of the air and soil. Therefore, one should not forget about timely watering from this point of view. The soil should be constantly moist enough, mulching the soil is very useful.

3. Cold rainy weather can also cause flowers to drop, in which the beans can also drop flowers. I have already spoken about the ways to avoid such a situation.

4. Lack of potassium or boron can also cause flowers to fall off. To prevent this from happening, you need, on the one hand, to closely monitor the plants and in case of potassium starvation, feed with potassium sulfate (2-3 tablespoons per bucket of water). On the other hand, when forming soil in a greenhouse, it will be necessary to apply complex fertilizers with boron (for example, Universal, and even better - Kemir, etc.). If boron was not introduced in advance, then at the time of intensive flowering, you can carry out a couple of foliar dressings with boric acid directly on flowering plants (1 g per 1 liter of water) or root dressings with Magbor (2 tablespoons per bucket of water) with a two-week interval.

About dressings

As for dressings, their quantity and quality composition depend, of course, on the degree of soil fertility in the greenhouse. I prefer the option of forming a very fertile soil and reducing the total amount of dressings as a result. Usually it is recommended to feed the vegetable beans after each harvest, but I usually feed it once every 2 weeks, starting from the moment of active flowering. I use Vegetable Giant as a fertilizer.

However, it must be borne in mind that in bad, rainy weather, the need for potash fertilizers increases in plants. In this case, you will need to add 1-2 tbsp of fertilizer to the fertilizer solution. tablespoons of potassium sulfate in a bucket of solution.

Two words about the formation of beans

The bushy forms of the beans do not form in any way, and the curly ones are usually pinched when they reach the top of the support. Pinching naturally speeds up the harvesting process. However, if the weather permits, it is better to wait with a pinch, and try to direct the growing shoots downward, distributing them so as to make the most of the free space.

A garter is indispensable

In order to use the light in the greenhouse most effectively, the plants must be tied up when they reach about 30 cm. First of all, this, of course, applies to climbing varieties (although bushy ones with a large harvest tilt strongly, therefore, their garter to the pegs is also desirable). Like other plants, the beans have to be twisted around the rope after being tied. It should not be forgotten here that this operation makes sense only when curling the shoots counterclockwise. If you curl the plants clockwise, they will develop.

And the harvest, it turns out, is not far off

Vegetable beans are fairly early ripening plants. You can start harvesting the shoulder blades about 8 weeks after the emergence of seedlings in early varieties and after 12 in mid-season varieties.

As for determining the moment of the next harvest, the harvest begins somewhere in 8-15 days after the formation of the ovaries (it depends on the weather). At this time, the seeds in the pods will have reached the size of a grain of wheat. In the future, the shoulder blades are removed selectively about 1 time per week. Under particularly favorable conditions - every 5 days.

Does it make a difference how and when to harvest beans?

It is very important to choose the right collection time. There are several important factors to consider here.

1. Harvesting should be started as early as possible, since the shoulder blades have a particularly delicate taste at a young age.

2. It is best to go to harvest in the early morning (at 6-7-8 am), because in the hot time of the day, the shoulder blades quickly wither and lose their taste and presentation. In cloudy weather, of course, you can harvest beans until 11 am.

3. Considering that fresh beans are practically not stored, the harvested crop must be processed immediately on the day of harvest. Usually, of course, it is not possible to boil and eat the entire crop harvested at a time. Therefore, some of the boiled shoulder blades always have to be frozen immediately for winter use.

4. We must not forget that if the blades on the beans are not cut off in time, the plants very quickly cease to bloom. The yield in this case, of course, will be much less.

Cooking tricks

In general, there are no particular difficulties in cooking vegetable beans. The blades are pre-cut into pieces 2-3 cm long (before that, the upper and lower tips of the "shoulder" are pinched off together with the stalks, and if there are fibers, they are freed from them) and boiled for 15 minutes in salted water, thrown in a colander, and then used for preparation of main courses and a variety of salads. Or they freeze. Or pickle, etc. For example, I have added beans to regular lecho many times. It turns out very tasty. There are an incredible variety of recipes that feature vegetable beans. As an example, I will give those that I like the most (and do not require much effort and time, which is no less important).

Frozen beans

The freezing process is quite simple: you need to boil the beans in the usual way in salted water. You only need to cook for 3 minutes. Then put the beans in a colander. After cooling, it should be placed in small plastic bags in small portions (focus on the amount of beans that you usually need to prepare one dish). It is convenient to take used milk cartons as bags. Then place the beans in the freezer.

Spicy beans

Boil the beans in the usual way (15 minutes). Chop carrots into thin strips, chop the onions and sauté them in vegetable oil until tender, and then combine with the boiled beans. Add freshly minced garlic cloves, salt and red pepper. Mix well.

Beans with tomatoes

Boil the beans as usual. Cut tomatoes and sauté them in vegetable oil for 2-3 minutes, mix with beans, salt, season with sour cream and sprinkle with finely chopped dill.

Beans with bell peppers

Boil the beans. Chop the pepper, chop the onion and sauté them in vegetable oil until tender, and then salt, season with pounded garlic and sour cream.

Bean omelet

Boil the beans. Put in a frying pan with heated butter or vegetable oil, pour over eggs, beaten with milk (as for a regular omelet), salt and fry until tender. When serving, sprinkle with finely chopped green onions.

Green beans salad with potatoes

Boil the beans. Chop the onions, boil the potatoes in their skins, peel and cut into slices. Cut the lettuce leaves as well. Stir all prepared products, season with mayonnaise, add salt and pepper if necessary.

Green beans and rice salad

Boil the beans. Cook rice. Mix the beans, rice, add a little tomato paste (or fresh tomatoes), season with sour cream, add salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle with chopped parsley and dill.

Green beans baked in sour cream

500 g beans, 2 carrots, 3 tbsp. tablespoons of butter, 2 tbsp. tablespoons of sour cream, 1 egg, 1 tbsp. tablespoons of ground crackers, salt and pepper to taste.

Boil the beans, add salt and pepper, stir. Grease the form with butter, sprinkle with ground breadcrumbs. Lay in layers: beans, coarse grated carrots, beans, finely chopped onions and beans again. Lubricate the surface with a mixture of sour cream and egg. Place the dish in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes.

Beans will not grow on heavy, acidic and waterlogged soils. ***

Excessive moisture can lead not only to the appearance of diseases, but also contribute to the attack of slugs, which are very "fond" of beans. If, nevertheless, slugs "attacked" your plants, then you need to reduce the humidity in the greenhouse (ventilate, sprinkle the soil between the plants with a mixture of ash and coal) and pour lime protective circles around the plants. If this does not help, then use the drug Metaldehyde.

You should refrain from applying large doses of nitrogen fertilizers, as this delays the harvest time.

To preserve vitamins during boiling, beans should only be thrown into boiling water.