Beans, Beans They're Good For Your Heart!

Without naming names, I have some friends who are pretty good at making excuses.  Today, one of those excuses got debunked.  The picture on the left is today's harvest from that one scrawny bean plant seen below.

This is certainly enough beans to have as a side dish for more than one person.  And this happens once or twice a week.  This plant is roughly 14 inches tall and 8 inches wide.  If it were potted, it would need an eight inch, or one gallon container.

If you are a regular, you know I believe procrastination is a legitimate resource.  In this case...
not so much.  If your beans get too big they are tough.  Pick them before they plump like snowmen.  

HOWEVER, there is another very relevant variable:  these beans have not been fertilized!

True story!  If these beans can produce this well in Georgia clay without fertilizer, imagine how well they would do in good soil with fertilizer.  Boom!  You have room for beans!  And in a container, you don't have to weed.

So for my friends who say they want gardens, but are more dedicated to their manicures, here are your directions:

Get an 8 inch container.

Mix potting soil and compost - all bought pre-sterilized in bags.

Mix them.

Fill the container with the potting mix, leaving a half inch empty at the top.

Plant three bean seeds in it.

Water it.  

Ask a gardening friend for a tablespoon of fertilizer.

Put the fertilizer on it when it is about five inches tall.

Pick the beans and eat them.

I'll do this today too and update you regularly!  I expect the same from you!