Contemplating the Summer Harvest of veggies way before anything is ready to eat. And I am contemplating the whole hill and how I am planning an all out assault of the SteveOh BeanSeed planting in the fall. My goal is plant a Fava bean for every square foot of the hill. Need to figure out how many beans that is.
Fava Beans add a lot of nitrogen to the soil, and their roots help break up highly compacted soil. Since the Favas grow well all through fall, winter and spring, and our rainy season, they should take care of themselves.
In one of the beds at the top of the hill, I have been planting and replanting Favas on the front half of the bed. That bed has been planted with potatoes after the last Fava Bean harvest. The potato plants in that front portion of the bed are TWICE the size of the potato plants on the back side of the bed.
Hence my enthusiasm for planting Favas where ever we want better soil.
Have planted Favas around the pomegranate on the side of the house, and this year we have more blossoms than we have ever had. I plant Favas around some of the fruit trees, and these trees appear to be doing much better than last year.
Plant more favas! Then harvest when the pods have gone black and gotten crunchy. Replant those beans, season after season until your soil has become loose and fertile. For the summer I have Santa Maria Beans, and I’m thinking a runner bean such as the Scarlet Runner.
Now I want a hundred acres on fertile lands to grow food to feed people.
Some grass growing at the top of the hill. I have no idea what kind this is, but am researching. We’ve scattered seeds here and there of orchard grass, and various clovers to help with erosion, and to add nitrogen back to the soil. Of course this could be a grass that what already here.