# Growing dried beans



## JustCliff (May 21, 2011)

Does anyone here or has anyone here grown dried beans on a large scale?


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Depends on what you mean by large scale. Like with a combine?
Beans and peas are pretty simple to grow, no nitrogen required, biggest problem is they go flat like a pancake by harvest. If using a machine rocks can be an issue.


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## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

JustCliff said:


> Does anyone here or has anyone here grown dried beans on a large scale?


Aren't beans dried after they are grown? I didn't know that they could be grown pre-dried. ha.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

camo2460 said:


> Aren't beans dried after they are grown? I didn't know that they could be grown pre-dried. ha.


I know you're kidding but in case anyone doesn't know, dry beans (and peas) are left to dry in the field, they aren't picked and then dried later. I have seen people confused with the peas, "dehydrated" or dried green peas are entirely different than green (or other colour) peas that are harvested mature.


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## seattlejerry (Aug 21, 2013)

I grew a package of pinto beans that I got at the store and they came out pretty good. You leave the bean on the plant till the pod drys out.


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## kappydell (Nov 27, 2011)

It depends on what you mean by bulk. The beans dry on the vine all by themselves. If you pull up the dry vines complete with the pods, put them in a gunny sack. Beat the tar out of them with a baseball bat, let the kids jump on the bag, etc until the vines & outer pods are broken & opened up. Then dump out in front of a strong fan (outside, the dry stuffs goes all OVER...) and over a tarp. The dry stuff will blow away, the heavier beans fall straight down. Gather up the beans. If they are good & dry, then you can put them in the freezer to kill any bugs, then into dry storage. I used to do a couple 5-gal pails a year to tide me over the winter.


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

JustCliff,
My father planted 12- 400' rows of butter beans one year, wish I was joking!
A preacher Lady prayed for a great harvest that spring, after my father said she could have some bean when they made.
God answered her pray!
We had so many beans of all sizes that dad called all the kin to come pick for free.
Twenty people were picking beans, My brother & I were just picking the dry beans that were not picked green. I was wondering why we had to pick off the dry beans so the plant would make more.
When we could not pick fast enough to keep them from drying up in the first place.
But in 1969 children did as the were told & kelp their opinions to their self.
So we had a lot of dry beans that year.

kappydell,
That is how we did all our beans,peas & okra.
The fan to remove the chaff from the fruit is so old that the bible speaks of it, but they used the wind/breeze to blow out the chaff, as we did.
We did not use a fan or air conditioner or water heater or store bought bread when I was coming up.
We did have running water & a wood stove for heat.


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## bacpacker (Jul 15, 2011)

Crabapple, 14 rows. Wow, that was some work. I'll bet there was enough beans to keep a lot of folks fed over that winter. 

Beans are easy to grow, keep seed for the following year, and keep for long term storage very easily. On top of that are pretty nutritious and don't deplete the soil like lots of crops do.


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

My father in law pasted 8 years ago, his DW left everything ,but the guns as they lay.
She gave the gun to her children, she pasted last year.
The children clean out the house for sale & I got a pound of dry better beans, no one wanted.
This spring we will see if they are still good.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

bacpacker said:


> Crabapple, 14 rows. Wow, that was some work. I'll bet there was enough beans to keep a lot of folks fed over that winter.
> 
> Beans are easy to grow, keep seed for the following year, and keep for long term storage very easily. On top of that are pretty nutritious and don't deplete the soil like lots of crops do.


Also a lot easier to harvest manually than something like wheat or oats.


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## bacpacker (Jul 15, 2011)

Never tried oats for food, only for cattle feed. I grew a patch of wheat last year. about 25x120'. Harvested with a scythe. That was quite a bit of work, more than beans for sure. But it really wasn't all that bad and figured out my technique better as I went. I need to get a hand scythe for gathering the stalks up after cutting them and build a cradle for my big scythe. Harvesting will go a lot better after that.

Harvesting beans go's pretty quick by picking the plants. I learned something from Kappydell about beating them in gunny sacks. I will be using that technique next time I harvest. Shelling beans is the most time consuming part of the job and that will make it much quicker.


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## JustCliff (May 21, 2011)

I have grown beans before but not like an acre or two. My main question was with harvesting. I have found some videos. most from Mexico, about bean harvesting. I was surprised to see all the special equipment involved. Planters not so much But the cutter they use to cut and make rows with and the special head for the combine, that's a bit much for me. i was just wondering if anyone did anything different.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

We planted quite a lot of beans when I was a kid, dont remember how much physical space that was planted but we usually wound up with several hundred pounds of pinto and navy beans each year when all was done.

We simply put let the vines die in the field, gather them up and stuff them in a 30 gallon drum then beat them down with a fence post. When they were well pounded we'd winnow them then store them in burlap bags(Tote Sack for those who remember em).

It was efficient, relatively fast and no special equipment required unless you count the tarp we laid down to winnow them on.

We also used the same process to thrash out oats, barley and wheat. My dad tried his hand at making beer with the barley, used the oats for feed and my mom made bread with the wheat.


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