Second Post today....but, must share ...Got a big surprise in the greenhouse today...I had noticed that there were afew beans trying to form on the favas planted last August in there. Upon moving plants and starting to pick them...found more and more! Ended up with 3/4 gallon of beans of decent size...which I washed / pulled strings off on both sides/ took the bean seed part out to steam ...peel and eat /freeze. The raw pods were then put into the Vita Mix with about 1/3 C filtered / boiled water and pureed. I still found some strings in with them, which I removed as much as possible..then added ground flax seed and some salt....spooned it into a gallon freezer bag pressed down thin to to freeze. This way we can brake off small pieces to eat whenever. Any more small amounts and I will freeze them lightly steamed to run thru the champion juicer when there is enough to merit washing all the parts afterwards....they were good! No bugs in there yet either

Just a quick quote that spoke to me...came across it in some old papers I had saved and it it now taped on the computer:

"DO NOT GO WHERE THE PATH MAY LEAD
GO INSTEAD WHERE THERE IS NO PATH AND LEAVE A TRAIL"
Emerson Have a blessed day !!! Aunt Bean

I love reading your posts Aunt Bean! Thank you.

Warm wishes to you,
Jill

Hopefully, last night was our last frost. So today starts alot of planting here at bean acres. (also, transplanting things from flats in the greenhouse) Got an area worked up yesterday for a small "sort of" corn maze for little people....several children come to visit...I like to hide things for them to find in various places while I visit with the parents. It is almost time for the outside strawberries to come in and it is a blast to watch the little ones with baskets or bowls looking for those sweet treats to take home. The grown ups enjoy hunting for them , too. Time to get started outside...the wash load is done and ready to hang out to get blown around in the sunshine..using solar energy is great when it is not raining and how fresh the clothes smell. It is almost like wearing sunshine!

Having very heavy rains and thunderstorms in our area...a portion of the upper and lower gardens have washed out, leaving a wide ditch where rows of vegies were planted. I have decided to leave the ditches where they are and make them walking paths (in dry weather) and rivers when the inevitable happens. Can't fight Mother Nature and water takes the course of least resistance. Anybody ever heard the old saying "If Mama aint happy...aint nobody happy" Well, I will do my level best to accommodate Mother Natures Will at this point...if you can't fight 'em ...join em. She is probably a really good landscaper ...our area sure is beautiful. Today I will "Go with the Flow" and so will my gardens. Have a blest day.

Well, it is May the 25th and it got down to 33 degrees here last nite. I watered some of the corn, though it looked ok and peppers that I forgot to cover when covering tomato plants. Down to 2 peppers of one variety outside...so I need to protect them for sure . Rest were washed away in the heavy rain storms we had this week. But, the favas are doing fine...found beans starting in the low garden this morning. God is good! God Bless

Started picking Fava beans last week. The crop is wonderful so far this year. Supposed to have mighty storms come thru today with high winds (possibly tornados and hail and lots of rain) We flooded last month and I left Mother Nature's ditch down thru the gardens...so she can take the same path again if she likes without destroying other parts of it. The fava beans are hanging full of all sizes of development...pray you all for protection > This is the best crop I have ever had and I am doing more experiments with it for ;-dopa. Professors from ETSU School of Pharmacology are coming Friday afternoon to look at my research...perhaps one of them or a student will take on the project of documenting and testing l-dopa in what I have made so far. PRAY YOU-ALL! Love, Aunt Bean

Aunt Bean, I hope the stormy weather is kind to your crops. Great news about ETSU coming to your farm to see your research.

HI Aunt Bean,

I'm wondering if its not the just the quantity of l-dopa in the beans but also the enzymes , amino acids, and other constituents present in the pods, flowers and beans that assist in digestive uptake (especially through the BBB) of the ldopa or that the fava somehow instructs the DNA (see Bruce Liptons' research).

btw how far apart do you plant your favas? Do you stake them? My crop is looking great this year too - i use a pretty hardy variety that withstands temperatures down to 26 degrees. Coming thunderstorms in the Mideast are looking rather ominous - am sending prayers your way.

I'm still drinking water + lemon juice + 3 ice cubes of fava bean pod juice every morning - am doing well too.

How wonderful that all your dedication and hard work is evolving and drawing more attention.

"Let your food be your medicine"- Hippocrates
md

Thanks for all your prayers...the bean patch is unharmed and my hands are growing "crampy" from shelling out favas and steaming the pods to freeze and juice later and steaming beans to freeze and peel as needed for food.
I plant favas about 7 - 8 inches apart now and two rows together with crawling space between and then a wider space to the third and forth row together (this helps me keep track of where I am picking, etc. I have had some varieties that had to be staked. Now I just dig a trench -maybe 8 inches deep (not as deep as for potatoes) / plant the beans and cover ...when they are up about 8 inches tall weed and hill and mulch them. And mulch where I crawl down the rows to make my knees happier...especially in wet weather.
I know the beans have much more in them then scientists even begin to understand to help PD. Look up diagnose me.com under Broad Beans what they say favas are good for...it's amazing. More time one day , I will try to condense the info and post it. God Bless......have a great day.