Garden Tips: Grow, eat your own dry beans

The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2016 as the International Year of Pulses. What are pulses? Pulses are grain legumes and include dry beans, dry peas, chickpeas and lentils.

Legumes are important crops across the world because they are part of a nutritious diet, providing protein, fiber, minerals and vitamins. Also, 25 percent of the pulses grown in the world are used for feeding livestock. The U.N. is recognizing pulses in 2016 not only for the nutrition, but also because they are sustainable crops. It only takes 43 gallons of water to grow one pound of pulses, and they fix nitrogen, enriching the soils in which they are grown.

One way to observe the Year of the Pulses is to add more dry beans, chickpeas and lentils to your diet. It is a healthy way to celebrate, considering that dry beans can help lower cholesterol and aid in the prevention of diabetes and heart disease when they are regular part of your diet.

Another way to take part is by growing dry beans in your garden. The most difficult part may be deciding what varieties to plant. There are hundreds available with a diversity of types, including the better known black, kidney, pink, red kidney, small white navy and pinto beans, to the lesser known cranberry, soldier, yellow eye, Jacob’s cattle markings, purplish, flageolet and more.

Check out seed catalogs from companies that offer a selection of dry bean seed, including heirloom varieties that are a continuing trend in gardening. It is a treat just to see the pretty pictures of the dry beans. One catalog to peruse comes from the Vermont Bean Seed Company at www.vermontbean.com. They specialize in beans, and in this catalog, they offer information on what type of cooking is best for each type of bean. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (www.rareseeds.com) and Seed Savers Exchange (www.seedsavers.org) also offer a selection of dry bean varieties.

It’s not difficult to grow dry beans. If you can grow green beans, you can grow dry beans. Like green beans, there are bush-type dry beans that stay more compact, and pole types that will need some kind of support, such as poles or a trellis. Also, like green beans, they are a warm-season crop. Wait to plant dry beans until after the danger of frost is past, the soil has warmed to at least 60 degrees and the average air temperature is above 50 degrees.

One difference in growing dry beans is the need to inoculate the seed with a soil bacterium that works with the plants’ roots to capture nitrogen from the air and fix it so it can be used for plant growth. Because you cannot tell if your soil already has this natural bacterium present, experts recommend mixing dry bean seed with Rhizobium leguminosarum, the specific inoculate needed for beans. You can obtain this innoculate from Vermont Bean Seed Company, other seed companies or your local farm store or specialty nursery. Just make sure it contains the specific inoculate needed for beans.

Want to learn more about growing dry beans? Go to http://bit.ly/garden_drybeans.

This story was originally published January 31, 2016 at 9:09 AM with the headline "Garden Tips: Grow, eat your own dry beans."