My King of the Garden Lima beans are  later than other people’s’ Limas, and were last year. I don’t know why that is, but now they have decided to get serious about being the Jack in the Beanstalk vines they were last year.  They are supposed to go 10′ tall, and did last year, not tall but up and over, trained on the trellis I had them on. (Up and over, cos I refuse to get up on a ladder to pick beans, lol.)  This year they’re growing on our bamboo pergola, and between them and Kentucky Wonder green beans, now the pergola is starting to look like I had hoped it would.

There are flowers everywhere, and lots of pods already formed, and now they’re starting to get the beans in.

Two pergola poles have Eliza’s Thai purple yard long beans on and they are pretty much over.  But it is so rewarding to see this structure getting covered up with vines and beans on the other 3 poles, and sending vines out over the cross pieces on the top.  I was eating Lima beans all of September last year, and will be again. And should still have some to dry to use in the winter.

We’ve picked a good many green beans and they are still flowering and producing as well.  Counting all the things we planted, we have eaten a lot of good stuff from the garden this year, and put a lot of stuff away for winter. Things will continue to produce for a while with these plants and two more things I just planted for short fall crops. Gardening is good.  Raising some of your own food is good. Heirloom plants are good.  These are the blessings of our earth, if we just treat it right.