The Green Beans are Coming In!

Green Bean harvesting has begun in earnest! This year, I was afraid I might not get as many green beans because of unwelcome, nightly visits to my garden from deer. However, the little plants made a comeback. Despite the extreme pruning that the deer gave the plants, (they left them with hardly any leaves) their leaves have regrown, and they are loaded with green beans!

I have tried many tricks to get deer to stay away. One year I put electric fencing around the garden. Though it worked, I had to keep an eye on the younger kids when they were outside to make sure they didn't go too close to the fence.

I have also tried scattering cut human hair on the garden. (I know... it sounds gross). But apparently the smell of people is supposed to keep the deer away. It sort of worked.

However, the best thing that has kept the deer away, in my experience, is a watchful dog. Bullet, Farm Son's dog, is great at barking if he suspects some animal is close by the house. His attention can be great at keeping wild animals away. Unfortunately, he can also be good at sleeping or ignoring animals as well. His preventative assistance is not always reliable as a result.

This year, however, I took chicken wire and bent it, creating a cage to place over the plants. It worked well. The deer were unable to reach through and eat anything. The plants had access to the sun and rain that they needed, and they grew!

Today, a few of the farm girls helped me to start harvesting the green beans. Even Farm Girl 7, who is 4 years old, was thrilled to help. She enjoyed hunting for the green beans on the plants and was excited when she found some to pick. While including the younger ones in garden harvesting is important and fun, I always make sure to instruct them in how to properly pick each type of vegetable. In this instance, I had to show the little girls how to carefully pick the green bean off the plant, without uprooting the whole thing. Green bean plants are fragile and are very easy to pull up from the ground. You have to carefully grasp the plant in one hand while gentle breaking off the green bean. Seeing the kids learn and enjoy the rewards of their work is a joy to me. It is especially nice to see some of the older ones passing on the knowledge that they gained previously from me, and teaching the younger ones how to care for the garden. A garden not only produces tasty things to eat, but also wonderful lessons to whomever may be tending it.