Ask and ye shall receive, eventually

So, when we prayed for rain the last three summers, it didn’t seem likely that we’d get it all in one month. Ten inches since June 1. It’s ungrateful to complain. Still: enough already. At four weeks old, the beans are growing, though they dislike wet feet and prefer drier conditions. If no more rain fell for the rest of the summer, they’d be fine. But they roll with what comes their way. So should their farmer.

The above photo shows, well, the dirty bed of my Ford Ranger, now that I get a good look at it. On the tailgate next to a glove for scale, lie several lengths of quackgrass, the main weed pest on the farm. At one end sprouts an innocent-looking green sprig, while a white rhizome rope snakes underground. The brown nodules seen at intervals along the rhizome are potential new quackgrass plants, which can develop more roots and nodules, ad infinitum. Quackgrass loves cool, wet conditions, and it’s doing beautifully in the bean field, thank you. Another reason why hot and dry would be welcome now.

The 2024 harvest will come with surprises. I thought I’d sowed five rows of good old reliable Bird Egg beans. Turns out I didn’t look too carefully at what got loaded into the seeder. Too late, I discovered the seeds came from a bucket of discarded beans from last year, sorted out because they were too blemished or misshapen to sell. But they’re growing well, and whatever they are will be harvested as a field blend. No way am I separating out different varieties. Which I suppose means they’ll need a name at some point. And I will turn to you, dear readers, for suggestions.

Be well.