Growing Dry Beans - Heirloom Rockwell Beans

I tried something new in my garden this year, growing dry beans to save for the year.  In my area, there is a nice heirloom bean that has been growing here for the last 100 plus years.  The Rockwell bean is a small bush bean, similar in size to a pinto bean, that makes excellent baked beans.

I read some of the stories of the bean:  

Little Farm on Ebey Prairie Blog

Rockwell History

So after reading about this cool old bean, I bought a package at the farmers market from Willowwood Farms,

I of course tested these out!  The recipe was on the back of the label, and made a great baked bean that even my little boys liked!

I kept a handfull of beans and planted them in late may as recommended on several blogs about this bean.  Despite several run ins with cut worms and birds eating the sprouts, I ended up getting 12 bushes of beans out the the handfull of beans.  They grew very well and produced 3-5 pods with 3-6 beans per pod.

I harvested the beans in the first week of October.  Simply pulled up the plants and laid them out in my garage to dry for a week.

Ames True American Wood Handle Bow Rake 1849400 (Google Affiliate Ad)After a week, I shelled the beans.  They are a cool white and maroon/red color and look perfect for planting next year.

  Not the largest harvest in the world, but I am going to save these and plant next year and see what I can do with better planting and plant protection knowledge! 

Nettle Quiche

I am in love with Nettles lately. Maybe because they make themselves very hard not to notice when they are intertwined through our berry bushes all around our property!

Stinging nettle near my house

In the spirit of using what is available, I decided to utilize the nettles with my abundance of eggs and make nettle quiche for a family breakfast.

I carefully - ie. wearing gloves - collected the tips of some young nettles.  I had mowed down a section of nettles on a trail earlier in the year.  It is a bit late for young nettle tips where I am at, but where I had knocked them down there were fresh shoots coming back up that I was able to collect.

Still carefully, I put the nettles into a small sauce pan and steamed them for 10 minutes -

I followed a spinach quiche recipe I found online.

Spinach Quiche Recipe

And enjoyed!