Beans, Beans & More Beans...

We have planted A LOT of beans in the garden, but that didn't stop dad from wanting to try something in our garden that they used to do when he was a child--especially since he owns the antique tool to accomplish this task!  We decided to plant Kentucky Wonder pole beans next to the corn stalks in our first row of Honey Select sweet corn.  The idea is to plant a bean in between two stalks of corn and when it grows, it will use one of the corn stalks as the pole it climbs on.  As if this wasn't an clever enough idea, you should see the antique tool someone invented a long time ago that makes this task easier!  Here is a picture of an Antique Corn Planter...



Dad strapped on his Ace Hardware apron, poured some pole beans in the apron pocket and started working his way down the first row of corn.  The first step is to push the tip of the planter into the dirt between two stalks of corn. Then, drop a bean through the opening at the top.  The bean falls through the tube down to the bottom of the planter.  Finally, dad squeezed the handle at the top of the planter and it would make the bottom of the planter open up, allowing the bean to fall down into the dirt.  Then he would pull the planter out of the ground and lightly tap the top of the dirt to make sure the bean was covered.  Clever invention, right?  I tried planting a few beans this way and it was SO EASY! It didn't require any bending over, which made it probably the easiest thing we've planted to date.  I can't wait to see these vines climbing up the corn stalks later in the summer. The beans should be much easier to pick this way, as well!  Here's a photo of dad in action...