Though the morning weather report said it’s going to be sunny, hot, and windy today, it sure looks like it wants to rain right now. I didn’t have the time to wait and see if Mother Nature supplied my garden with water or not. They needed it badly, so I went ahead and watered a little bit.

The best news from the garden this morning is that the bush beans are totally on schedule! I’ve been eyeballing them all week for any signs of flower buds instead of just more leaf buds, and this morning there are flower buds on most of the first planting of bush beans! Yippee! It looks like we might have beans on the 15th, just as I anticipated! I love it when nature follows my carefully laid plans.

Which reminds me, I need to get more bean seeds. I was trying to wait to order them until I knew what I wanted to order for the fall and winter garden. I guess I better make that decision pretty quickly and get that order out as soon as possible. Bush beans tend to only really produce for a couple of weeks, and then they need to be replanted. I don’t want there to be too much break in the production, as I want a lot of beans sitting in the freezer ready for later eating.

Contender Bush Beans have, thus far, been a serious win in my garden. Bugs don’t seem to want anything to do with them, they are an open-pollinated heirloom variety (so I can save my own seed for next year), they are resistant to a few diseases, they grow quickly, and unexpected late freezes don’t seem to phase them. Provided the beans taste good and are plentiful –I don’t see why either of these things wouldn’t be true– they are definitely getting planted in next year’s summer garden, possibly in larger numbers.

It’s been nice getting radishes and lettuce from the garden almost every night, but I can’t wait for some green beans!!!