The Family Kitchen Gardener (1856)/Beans
BEANS.
Phasèolus vulgàris.—Haricot, Fr.—Schminkbohne, Ger.
This vegetable is one of the standards of the garden for summer culture. It is an every-day dish for the table. The numerous forms in which it can be served up; the rich, buttery flavor of some of the varieties; the crisp, juicy character of others, renders at least some of the family palatable to the most fastidious.
The following are Bush-Beans, or Snap-Shorts, and their characteristic of excellence is their breaking crisply. If tough, they are unfit for cooking. They are arranged in the rotation of their coming to maturity. Some growers prefer one variety only, while others prefer several sorts. Our remarks are all made with the articles under our culture, and notes taken on the spot. We pay no regard to the hacknied quotations handed down from one writer to another.
Early Mohawk.—A variety that resists more frost, as an early crop, than any other. It is an excellent bearer, pods long; beans, when ripe, large, oval, dark speckled. Sown 13th May, fit for the table June 16th.
Early Six Weeks.—Not so hardy as the former, but equally early. It is a light-colored Bean.
Early Valentine.—The Valentine Beans are extensively cultivated in this vicinity for the market. They are the sorts that have round pods, and continue on the plant a long period for culinary purposes. A great bearer, of a salmon color, with pink spets. Sown 13th May, fit for the table June 20th.
Yellow Six-Weeks.—In growth and maturity very similar to the former, though three days later.
Late Valentine, or Refugee.—A very excellent variety, very similar in appearance to the Early Valentine when green though a stronger grower. Color dark-brown, speckled. Sown 13th May, fit for use June 25th.
Black Valentine is a most excellent variety, a great bearer, and of delicate flavor. Ripens a few days later than the former.
Royal White-Kidney.—The best late variety; has long pods, richly flavored, and for family use is indispensable, not only in its green state, but for Winter use. As a vegetable it is preferable to any other. Sown 13th May, fit for the table July 1st.
The above sorts may be sown at any time from the 10th of April to the 25th of August. The first sowing in Spring is frequently cut off with frost, though we have seen the Valentine sorts all killed, while the Mohawk stood uninjured. It should therefore always be adopted for the earliest sowing. A few rows of each sort sown every two weeks will keep a succession for the table from the first of June till the middle of October. As this crop does not long occupy the ground, it can frequently be sown between rows of Corn, ridges of Celery, or Drumhead Cabbage when they are first planted.
Culture.—Any good, light, rich soil will grow this Bean in perfection. Draw drills with the hoe two and a half inches deep, and from one foot to eighteen inches from row to row; drop the beans regularly therein, about two inches apart; cover up carefully and expeditiously; give frequent and deep hoeings to keep open the soil. As soon as the crop is three inches high, draw the earth to their stems. When they begin to show their flower bud, draw a few inches more, which is termed by gardeners, earthing up.
Seed.—Where seed is wished to be saved, the sorts must be grown apart, as far as practicable, for they are very susceptible of mixture, if even within fifty yards of each other.
Running or Pole Beans (Haricot à rames, Fr.; Stangen bohue, Ger.) are sorts in great esteem; especially the Lima, of which there are two varieties, the White and Green. Both are excellent in flavor. The latter has the advantage of size, and the former of producing a more certain and uniform crop. It is the variety most extensively cultivated for the Philadelphia market, covering an extent of over two hundred acres in the immediate vicinity of the city.
Culture.—They are planted in the last week of April, or first week of May, in hills very similar to Indian Corn, and about the same distance apart. In fact, those who can plant Corn, can plant Lima Beans; though strangers to this luscious vegetable often make very curious mistakes in its culture, some drawing drills and sowing them therein, others digging pits and burying the delicate seed (which is impatient of cold or moisture) six or eight inches deep; the results from both of which operations must be nearly a total failure. Some sprout these beans in a hot-bed, and transplant them into the hills in which they are to grow; but very little, if any time, is gained by the trouble. A hill of good, rich earth, raised a few inches above the level, and five or six beans put two inches deep therein, will be found the safest and surest. If three grow, it is enough; if net, plant over again. They will grow twenty feet; but rods of twelve feet, placed two feet in the ground at the time the hill is made, will support them. Cold damp weather frequently destroys the first and even the second planting.
Carolina or Sewee Bean, has all the habits of the Lima, though not so large. It is more hardy, and produces as profusely, but has not so much of the rich, buttery flavor.
Dutch-Case Knife is an excellent pole Bean, producing a good crop, of fine flavor, and much earlier for the table than either the Lima or Carolina. It can be used either in or with out the pod; it is also well adapted for Winter use.
Cranberry, both the Red and White are much cultivated, though we decidedly prefer the latter. They are of the easiest culture; the corn-field can be used, if the garden does not suffice. In fact, we see no reason why every farmer should not have a few Beans, even of the Lima, on every corn-hill. The stalks would support the vines; the produce would bring four dollars per bushel; or even for family use, they would be profitable for an every-day vegetable the whole Winter; they are a certain crop, even preferable to the Potato, more nutritive, while the latter is becoming a precarious crop, and of an indifferent quality.
Scarlet Runners require to be earlier planted than the Lima Bean, that they may be well advanced in growth before the hot weather begins, which stunts their growth and prevents their blooming. They must be poled in the same way. The blossoms are red, hence their name.
Vicia Faba—Féve de Marais of the French, or Windsor Bean of the English—are of trifling value for this climate, compared with the sorts previously described. However, in cool climates, on rich loamy soil, they will, if planted early, make a return for the use of the ground, and prove a variety for the table. The Windsor and early Long Pod are the best varieties. Plant them in drills eighteen inches asunder, and two inches apart in the row.