santa barbara country n news-the life cycle of a calico bean

SANTA BARBARACOUNTRY N NEWS-THE LIFE CYCLE OF A CALICO BEAN

this is what i call a calico bean
the real name is a christmas lima bean
why because in some areas they are harvested near christmas time
they have a long growing season

last year ms b and i planted a row of these
the beans that grew we shelled and ate all of them except
i saved a few beans to plant for this year

now these beans are the favorite ones that the kids play with each year during our annual school garden educational class
during the seed section the kids take beans out of a large basket of all different sizes of beans
the ones that seem to stand out are these
christmas lima beans

they are the largest and have this calico color
in fact as the kids leave the seed section i have seen a few stick them into their pockets to take home
which is ok with us

this year i built a 18 foot frame that is about 7 feet tall made from scrap 2x2s and bamboo poles all tied together with garden twine
then
a lattice is made for the beans to grow up on
now these beans will get about 7 foot tall
i planted them in april and am just now harvesting them

this is a picture from the end of the row taken standing on a small ladder
half of this row is the christmas lima beans

i leave them on the vine until they turn brown
then
pick them
take them home
shell them
then
i store them in these quart jars

on this day i shelled 3 quarts of these beans

i take the bean shells and dump them in the walkways in my garden
eventually these shells will disappear over time turning into compost and garden soil
sort of the circle of life for a bean plant

the bean plant itself will be cut off at its base leaving the roots in the soil to breakdown to help enrich the soil for my carrots that i will plant there soon
the bean vines will be chopped up and put into my worm composters

when i cook these beans i cook them in a crockpot starting with veggie broth with olive oil
adding the beans into this mix
adding my sauteed onions and garlic and jalapeno peppers
then
when they have softened some i will add black pepper and some salt

as the beans cook slowly the calico color just disappears into the water
giving the juices an almost yummy hammy taste

the beans when cooked will have no calico color at all and look like what we in the south would call
a large brown butter bean

i also add a tomato and pepper mix that we grow ourself or get from a can
many of you would know it as rotel
our version is from my garden

now
my wife she cooks a pan of iron skillet cornbread to go with these beans

i dont know of a meal that tastes this good at any restaurant

the organicgreen doctor