Surprising yucky discovery in stored seeds

Last summer I purposely let some pea pods mature to brown on the vines so I could harvest the seeds to plant this spring. This weekend I pulled the seeds out to put them in the garden. I was surprised that so many of them had holes. What in the world? I smashed one with a knife to see if I could figure out what caused this. I don't know what I expected -- mold, fungus, maybe? -- but I was utterly surprised to find that a bug was inside. Apparently it was playing dead, because I got another surprise a few minutes later when it slowly started moving.  

I learned these are cowpea weevils. Adults lay eggs in developing legume pods or stored seeds. The larvae and pupae grow inside the seed and emerge as grown weevils. These can produce a new generation of adults in three to six weeks.

Don't be complacent if you find a hole in only one seed. One hole signals that an adult has emerged. You likely have an infestation with the insect in other stages inside the other seeds. Best to throw all of them out. And not to the compost heap, I might add, where they still can flourish.

If you recently purchased seeds and discover holes in them, I recommend taking them back to the store and asking for a replacement or refund.

My seeds were in a plastic sandwich bag which wasn't entirely sealed ... my mistake. I further erred by leaving them in a kitchen drawer (I forgot!) instead of in a cooler place. Weevils love the warmth.

I will try to save pea seeds again this year, with this added step: FREEZING. Make sure the peas are completely dry before storage; to test this, pound a few with a hammer on the driveway. They should make a brittle cracking sound and not have any gummy interiors. If frozen before completely dry the extra moisture can expand in the seed and make it crack. Freeze in a moisture/air tight container. If the mature peas were exposed to insects while on the vine, the life cycle will be in the egg stage. Freezing will kill the eggs before larvae make a dent.

As cozy as a pea in a pod? No thanks.

Bean teepees from yard waste

Garden problem #1: Man, these shoots are growing out of nowhere. I'll have to cut them and haul them away. Sigh.

Garden problem #2: Hmm, are we out of stakes in the shed? I guess I'll have to go buy some before I can make the bean teepee. Ugh, another errand.


DING, DING, DING!

Are you quicker than I am?

Yep, it took me a minute, but I finally clued in that problem #1 was the solution for problem #2.

The 6-foot long shoots I cut were about a half-inch in diameter. My garden helper (I use the term loosely) and I cut away the small side branches and made five poles to use as a teepee for beans. I gathered the poles at the top and then spread them out in a circle with the bases of most poles about 18 inches apart. Two poles are farther apart, like a door, to allow my son to enter the teepee.

I pushed the poles in the ground a few inches and wrapped the tops with some twine to keep them connected. The whole assembly probably took three minutes. (My brain wave took much longer!)

I have made teepees from man-made garden stakes before, but definitely prefer the natural approach. I like the look, it used materials on hand, and the flexibility of the branches made installation easier. The notches from cut twigs also make the poles interlock.

Simple garden teepees can accommodate cucumbers, melons and squashes. They are great space-saving measures in a garden. Just be sure to carefully consider placement in your garden, such as at the north end where their height won't block sun to surrounding plants.

For a bean teepee use pole beans, not bush (which are perfectly tasty but don't climb). We planted five seeds around each pole. That was the funnest part. My 7-year-old son said, "Hey, these seeds look like candy!" "Yeah, you're right, they do kind of look like Tictacs," I replied.

"And old people candy!" he declared.

I'm still scratching my head about that one. Happy planting!

Beans, Beans, the Magical Fruit

In an effort to be healthier our family has made a goal to eat more beans. This is a big undertaking since most of us claim that we don't like beans. We have only been adding more beans to our meals for about a week but I have found some great recipes that anyone will love, even kids. Why do we want to use more beans? Let's talk about the benefits of beans.

Source

• Beans lower cholesterol
• Beans are an excellent source of non fat protein.
• Beans are and excellent source of complex carbohydrates.
• The carbohydrates in beans are absorbed slower than simple sugars so you stay fuller longer when you eat them.
• Beans have lots of fiber.
• They are easy to store and cook.
• Beans are an inexpensive protein.

As a personal non scientific note I have upped my bean intake for only one week. It might be psychosomatic, but I don't feel hungry after eating a meal that contains a serving of beans for up to 4 or 5 hours. I really think it's because they digest slower. I also have more energy throughout the day and I don't have that big drop in blood sugar that makes me feel like I need to take a nap.

 Now that I have convinced you to eat beans, watch for the insanely delicious black bean soup recipe in my next article.

~Michael~