Yesterday I went back to the nursery to stock up on bamboo poles/stakes. Making the trellises for the peas and the (ornamental) flowering vines, and the support thing for the fava/broad beans (which consists of a bunch of poles with a single length of garden twine looped around them to help keep the fava/broad beans from falling over) used up most of the stakes I had from last year, and since all those things are still growing quite well in this unusually cool weather, I couldn’t recycle any of the stakes yet. I was just outside staking the rest of the runner beans and pole beans that have already sprouted, and I’ve already used up nearly all of the 4 ft. and 5 ft. stakes I bought! (The 4 ft. stakes come in packs of 25 and the 5 ft. in packs of 10.) I also bought a pack of 2 ft. stakes (also 25 per pack) for dwarf plants that might need some support, like my edamames (soybeans) which are still slowly sprouting (unfortunately I think the hot day lulled them into beginning to sprout and now the cooler day has quite slowed it down) and the bush runner beans. The nursery’s bamboo stakes come painted in a greenish-blue color, which I guess is meant to make them blend in (gods forbid that a pole actually appear in the American landscape), but which I actually find rather irritating because it tends to rub off. By the time I finished staking, my palms were coated in blue-green! It took five washings before my hands were free of paint. The hardware store used to carry unpainted bamboo poles; I wish they still did.
Doing the staking allowed me to take stock of what’s going on with the new sprouts. The scarlet runner bean (species) and runner beans ‘Potato Bean,’ ‘Four Corners,’ and ‘White Aztec’ appear to have had 100% germination or nearly so (depending on the species). Runner beans ‘White Emergo’ and ‘Painted Lady’ are partially sprouted but not fully yet, and the one I got from another local gardener later than I planted the rest, ‘White Aztec Half-Runner,’ still has the tiniest of sprouts (I suspect that, like the edamames, the hot weather fooled it). The purple-podded beans have similarly had erratic germination, with some having more plants up than others. (See recent entries for descriptions of the purple-podded beans; see the bottom of this post for descriptions of the runner beans.) The garbanzo bean still hasn’t sprouted, so by this point I am wondering whether it’s going to do so. One plant of the ‘Aztec White’ appears to have had some damage to its leaves, but there was no pest visible so I don’t know what it was. Some sites allege that ‘Potato Bean’ and ‘White Aztec Half-Runner’ are the same thing, but I don’t know if that is true. I also don’t know if my ‘Aztec White’ is the same as the ‘White Aztec Half-Runner’ that I was given. We shall see!
Yesterday I potted up the two daturas I mail-ordered (‘Ballerina Yellow,’ a double yellow, and ‘Evening Fragrance,’ a single white) and the old-fashioned petunias that I also mail-ordered (Petunia integrifolia, ‘Old-Fashioned Climbing,’ and ‘Rainmaster’). I’ve nearly used up the outdoor potting soil. I’ll have to find someone to give me a ride to get some more, as I’ve still got some plants to pot up, and some of the ones I overwintered could also do with larger pots.
Yesterday I noted that there were many more sprouts of mesclun – all four pots are now showing many sprouts – and that there were signs of life in the first of the seeded-in big pots, the one with miscellaneous greens (basically, any green that isn’t lettuce or baby leaf). I haven’t checked on them yet today. [Edit after checking More mesclun and miscellaneous greens up, amd the first sprouts in the huge pot of lettuce.]
I’ve been more diligent about cleaning and refilling the bird bath at least once a day, and have found the birds coming more frequently to it as a result. Sometimes they get so impatient for me to leave the back garden that they give up while I’m still out there and come back at a later time! I’ve found the American Robins, Blue Jays, and House Sparrows seem to especially like it so far. I have an on-the-ground bird bath that simulates bathing in a big puddle, excepting that it’s raised a bit (vs. a puddle) to give them something to sit on. It’s made in such a way that it gets deeper as it goes to one end, so that there’s a side that’s easiest to bathe in and a side that’s easiest to drink from, but so far this summer everybody seems to just be bathing in it. Last year the squirrels drank from it, but I haven’t seen them do so yet this year (though they could be doing it while I’m not looking; it’s certainly possible more types of birds are using it while I’m not looking as well).
Runner beans
In America, runner beans are usually cultivated as ornamentals. I don’t know why, as they are tasty!
Scarlet Runner Bean (Phaseolus coccineus) A Mexican native that was popularized by the great eighteenth-century English garden writer, Philip Miller, the Scarlet-runner is still very popular in Europe for the edible bean. Jefferson planted this lovely vine with its showy scarlet flowers in 1812, noting: “Arbor beans white, crimson, scarlet, purple…on long walk of garden.” In 1806 the Philadelphia nurseryman Bernard McMahon wrote that it was grown in America exclusively as an ornamental. Whether for beauty or utility, sow the large, mottled seeds in a sunny part of your garden after the last frost. Seeds should be planted about one inch deep in well-prepared soil. The Scarlet-runner will climb up to twenty feet, and requires a trellis, arbor, fence, or bean poles to support its vining habit. Beans may be harvested and eaten when young and tender.
Painted Lady This bi-colored variety of Scarlet-runner Bean, with showy scarlet and white flowers, is an heirloom of garden origin. This tropical American species was popularized by 18th-century garden writer, Philip Miller. Jefferson planted Scarlet-runner vine in 1812 for its beauty and shade, noting: “Arbor beans white, crimson, scarlet, purple…on long walk of garden.” Sow the large, mottled seeds 1-inch deep in well-prepared soil after the last frost. Climbs to 20 feet and requires a trellis, arbor, fence, or beanpoles for support. Beans are edible.
Aztec White White flowered variety that produces large, white seeds. The fastest maturing scarlet runner at the Conservation Farm (4000 ft.).
Four Corners A beautiful, deep purple and black bean from the Navajo Reservation. Originally collected in the late 1980s. Produces bright red flowers that attract hummingbirds. Does not like intense heat of the low desert, but is prolific at the Conservation Farm at 4000′.
Potato Bean An heirloom that was sent to us from a family in Oregon. They had been growing it for many years. It produces huge, fat, white beans that are among the largest I have seen! Great for cooking. Vining plants set good yields. Delicious and hard to find.
White Emergo 80 days — Similar to ‘Scarlet Runner’ but with white flowers. Vigorous growth with prolific yields of long, slender pods. The beans are quite good when pods are picked young and tender. They are full of flavor and fleshy with a fine texture. Pick regularly to ensure a continuous crop.
Aztec Half-Runner Originally cultivated by the Anasazi, the “ancients” of the Southwest, these plump, large white beans make a hearty, thick soup. 4-5 in. pods are particularly succulent and delicious raw or cooked. 3 ft. runners do not require staking. (60-75 days) [Since I got these from a local gardener, I pasted a description from a random webpage. I’m not positive this is the same bean, as I was told the seeds I was given would max out at a foot or less. We shall see!]
A Bee in the City 
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