Food Storage: Green Beans from Soil to Table

By Jami Scholl | July 15, 2011 | 3:28 am | Comments (2) |

Mountain o' Green Beans to preserve.

Growing, Food Preservation and Family Heritage

When I talked to my grandmother this past year about how much food she would put up for the family every year, she said: “as much as possible”. This now being midsummer I am beginning to process food for storage, thinking about how much I should preserve, dry, pickle… and how much to grow for fresh eating. Mary, the Amish lady we have a long-standing relationship with took our pre-order giving us a window of time for which to pick-up the beans and prepare for the task of canning the 2 bushels we ordered, one for mom and one for my family. My family eats fewer green beans and so I settled for one bushel. Mary informed Mom that one bushel should make about 20 quarts which is what I found to be the same as online estimates.

I took some out to dry as I have read Native Americans have done in the past. This method requires no energy. Imagine green beans strung up sort of like we sometimes string popcorn for a Christmas tree. I will thread them on the “head” part of the bean, the end which had been attached to the plant.

If we are looking strategically at how to make sure to be able to provide for our family, it is worthwhile to consider a one year’s supply of food for the family and for any other person who may come to stay or visit. Did Mom and I can enough green beans to last my family for the year? Thus far this year this is what I have for home preserved items:

Black raspberry jam = 5 pints + 4 small gift jars

Green beans = 20 quarts

Mint, various = yet to be processed & packaged

The mint has yet to be removed from their stems and packaged, although I now have 5 paper bags full. The tomatoes now have wilt and my harvest will be quite small. My urban lot is very shady with my most sunny area receiving 4-6 hours of early sun per day. This means I can grow cabbage, kale, peas and other greens really well, although tomatoes and other vegetables domesticated in tropical areas do not thrive. Since kale is in the cabbage family I will attempt making sauerkraut using kale rather than cabbage next week.

The process of canning green beans:

(note: we used an old pressure canner which had no pressure gauge.)

1. pick or purchase the freshest green beans possible; it does not matter what type they are.

2. typically folks remove the “heads & tails” then break the beans (if desired) into uniform sizes about 1 ½ inches long.

3. get ready canning supplies: jars, lids, rings, salt, pots, pressure canner, funnel, lid wand. Remember that the jar rims should have no chips or cracks.

4. wash the beans

5. blanch the beans (optional). While beans are blanching sterilize the clean jars and get the lids ready by boiling them in a small pot to make the rubber smooth.

6. put the hot beans into the sterilized jars, place the cap on then finger tighten the ring.

7. place in the pressure canner with  approximately 4 inches water.

8. when the canner starts to puff steam then begin to time the canner for 25 minutes.

9. when twenty minutes have passed, turn off the heat, letting the canner cool down before taking off the lid. You will know when the canner lid is ready to be removed when the weight does not have steam coming out of it. You can check this by holding the weight sideways a bit to see if any steam comes out. If there is no steam, then it is safe to take off the lid.

Although it is beginning of a time to harvest and preserve green beans, it is not too late to plant them for fresh harvest. Green beans like warm soil and a sunny location. Harvest times will range from 45 to 75 days. Careful selection of variety can lengthen your harvest beyond planting once for the entire summer, which is especially important for those with limited growing space.  Planting disease resistant varieties will help in avoiding some common problems such as rust and powdery mildew.

Plant bush bean seeds 1 inch deep, 2-4 inches apart, and if you are planting in rows have the rows approximately 2-2 ½ feet apart. I like planting in block plantings which completely covers the soil smothering weeds and retaining moisture in the soil. This is an especially strategic technique especially fitting for small spaces. Pole beans are another option for small spaces and should be planted at the same depth but around for spacing should be 3-4 seeds a pole such as bamboo. For visual appeal paint the poles before use. Remember that the more you pick the beans, the more will grow!

Comments (2) | | Categories: Community Food Security,food preservation,Food Traditions,Gardens,Homesteading,Urban Agriculture | Tags: Food Preservation, Food Security, Urban Agriculture