Popping beans (aka Garbanzo beans)

I'm growing a type of garbanzo bean (aka chick pea), Cicer arietinum, that produces small brown seeds that are supposed to cook quickly in a small amount of oil and pop, but not like popcorn. Having a bean that cooks quickly saves time and energy. No long soaking required and long simmering times are not needed. I got my seeds from another member of Seed Savers Exchange and I'm growing those out to increase my stock. Most of the seeds I produce this year will go back into next year's crop, but I'm going to try popping a few, since I've never actually done it (only read about it).

I've never even grown garbanzo beans before. Only bought bags of the big pale seeds at the bulk section of the market. The plants very much resemble lentil plants, which I have grown. The pods hang under the foliage, so I've pulled this plant back to show the pods.

Permaculture video - Geoff Lawton, Greening the Desert

Cucurbitaceae - A good family

Went out looking at the cucumber and melon plants today.
I found fruits growing on a lemon cucumber (Cucumis sativus) plant, a white cucumber (Cucumis sativus) plant, and a watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) plant.

White cucumber

Watermelon

Lemon cucumber

Putting up food

Canned white peaches.

Drying white peach slices.

This has been a particularly peachy summer and, as in years past, I decided to can some peaches. I am also trying out the screened, drying rack that my partner made at the end of last summer. I have dried one batch of peaches and have a second batch in there now. I am also drying some apricots from a friend. The climate here is rather hot and dry in summer, so the sliced fruit dries quickly and without the use of electricity. I had tried one of those round, plastic, electric dehydrators one year, and I dried several trays of green beans (which reconstitute okay in soups) and when I had my first batch of tomatoes in there it started to melt the trays and then died. So I returned it and opted for the solar-operated model that has a greater capacity and looks nice too. The racks have food-grade stainless steel mesh (the most expensive part of the system). I'm lucky to live with someone who is handy and willing to build things like this.

Benefits to using the drying rack: no electricity needed, large capacity, will not melt and stop working - or cause a fire due to malfunction, and the dried peach slices are delicious! Canning requires lots of standing over a hot stove (and sugar). With drying I just have to slice the fruit and put the trays in the box, wait a few days until the fruit feels dry enough, and then put the dried slices in clean containers.

I am not sure how the dried peaches will compare to opening a jar of peaches, but I definitely like the lower energy and lower labor aspect to the method.

Hot days of July. The thermometer sits in a shaded breezeway (where the drying rack is located) and was still pushing the needle up into the 100s (almost 40 C) at 3 p.m. Minimum temperature was 64 F (18 C) last night. These hot days and warm nights help the fruit dry quickly, but they offer little relief to the humans in this permaculture system.

Front Yard before and during (when will it be after?)

The front yard (above in winter 2007) was basic lawn with overgrown foundation shrubs before any work was started.
Now (below in July 2009) there is still plenty of lawn (it takes lots and lots of shoveling to dig up lawn) but also plenty of other plants. The foundation shrubs are still here and overgrown, though they offer shade from the late summer sun, so not totally useless. A mature gardenia is located outside the bedroom window, and since we don't use A/C our windows are open often at night allowing the heady fragrance to drift in.

Along the front walk

Chipping away at the lawn started along the front walk, near the front door of the house. First a hollyhock, then some lavender and some heuchera, then a kumquat.
The area got expanded and now hosts bush beans, purple basil, and a cucumber. All just a few steps from the front door. I go out for basil almost daily now.

Lawn transformation

Berm and basin by the road used to be lawn. I dug it up and planted it to shrubs and other various plants (see older post for more info). Late spring found the place overrun with gopher activity. They ate the roots of mature hollyhocks & lavateras (both in the mallow family), and then wrecked havoc by tunneling and disturbing various plants. For a while the area looked rather unattractive. I seeded with daikon radish, squash, sunflowers, melons, and other seeds. It took a while to recover, but now the area is high with sunflowers, daikons are growing as are other the other plants. It is lush and lovely with a variety of textures, colors, and plants.


The back side of the berm/basin is still lawn, but this trombetta squash is making a run for it.

Humulus lupulus in bloom

The Hops are starting to flower.
Depending upon how many hop cones the plant produces, they might be used in a brew later this year. Humulus lupulus is a member of the Cannabaceae family.