Saving seed - Dry Beans

Today I threshed some of the pole beans. These are the bird egg pole beans I grew on strings and other forms of support (sticks, old wire fencing, sunflowers). I picked the dry pods off the bean plants and then piled them up and crushed the pods to release the beans. Then I sorted the seed from the chaff (winnowed) for later use. The best of these seeds will be planted next year. I'll select for good color and shape. The remainder will be eaten in soup or other meals. The plants are still bearing so this process will continue through the autumn. I prefer to thresh and winnow small batches of beans rather than do them all at once. It is a very meditative process.

Saving Seed - Black Beans

During the cold weather we like to eat black beans in various recipes. Black bean chili with butternut squash is a staple winter-time meal for us. I've been buying organic black beans from the grocery store for years. I've grown plants for the past few years. This year I got a pretty good yield from a few plants I grew in the front yard. Some of the plants are still maturing but I cut some of them today and gathered a pile of seed pods. Once all the plants mature and the seed pods dry fully I'll thresh and winnow the seeds and maybe I'll get enough for one pot of chili.