WING BEANS

[davidstcldfl]

I know it's late in the year to be talking about plants, but these are pretty interesting ....and something different.

I was at a fall harvest festival yesterday. I was there with a new group we are forming in Osceola county...."OC Growers", it's a group of local growers and producers, trying to promote the fact that 'we are here'. That yes, there are local grown, low miles foods available.

I was given a few seeds....I'm going to give them a try. Hopefully, I'll be posting some pictures one of these days.

I met one of the group members and he had brought along some ...'wing beans'. I tried one raw...they are very good.

-They are a perennial (at least for us Floridians).
(wikipedia said they can be grown in 'most' of the US)
-They are a tropical plant and 'love' the humidity.
-The vines/bushes can get pretty big ....up to 4 meters.
-The beans are high in protein, up to 40%....lots of vitamins and minerals.
-"ALL" of the plant can be eaten, beans, flowers, leaves, roots.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winged_bean

[rfeiller]

i need a bigger greenhouse, about 6 plants would about do it for my 14x16 house. what a great find. i will ck it out further.
thanks for the post.

rich

[urbanfarmer]

David... buddy... pal... can I get some seeds from ya? LOL

[davidstcldfl]

Sorry....I already gave a few away...I only have 4 or 5 seeds....wish I had more...

Here's a link....I've never dealt with this company....looks like they 'might be' in CA (?)

http://www.evergreenseeds.com/wingedbean.html

[urbanfarmer]

No problem, I was kidding anyway, but I do appreciate the thought!!! I did a little research, and yes it is an amazing bean! Also, for Florida it's best to have the day neutral genetics in your seeds or else you won't get as many beans. I am going to order some off eBay.

[r3tic]

I ordered some of these from rareseeds.com this year. It is recommended that you sand thee seed coat and soak the seeds to aid in germination. Sadly, my daylength is too long here and they did not do very well for me.

[davidstcldfl]

Sadly, my daylength is too long here and they did not do very well for me.

Bummer... ....Like urbanfarmer mentioned, mine are "day-neutral"...the length of day light should'nt effect them.......I wonder 'if' yours were r3tic ?

[r3tic]

These didn't specify anywhere I could find. You have to consider the day length in Philadelphia is a bit longer than it will be for you in Florida.

[dufflight]

I've got some seeds. Not sure if its the same type. Will have a dig for them later. Good time to plant over here.

[urbanfarmer]

I will order some seeds tonight.

I just got me some land. Gonna see about plantin' some dem seeds