My old bean towers fell apart at the end of last season - they were 12 years old. I decided to try a new design and ordered the above pictured bean towers from
Gardener's Supply Company with my tax refund earlier this year.
I didn't open them when they came since the ground was still covered with lots of snow - I just set them aside until I needed them. Today I opened them and went to put them in the garden and lo and behold - one of them is defective! And of course, customer service is closed so I have to wait until tomorrow to call (I hope they are open on Saturday). My fear is that they will want me to return the defective one before sending out a new one and who knows how long that can take? I am hoping that they will realize that this is planting season and if they make me wait I will just ask for a refund and buy something locally that I can put right up.
I have always had good luck and great customer service with Gardener's so I'm hoping this will be just a temporary setback.
I really like the one that is up - no more strings to string up like I did with my old towers - it comes in two pieces - you just unfold them - put the bottom one in the ground and then stick the prongs from the top one into the holes on the bottom one -that was a little tricky lining up all of those prongs and holes, but the rest was easy peasy - well, except for the second one that seems to be welded incorrectly and won't open up at all. I like that they fold flat for easy storage and the height seems good.
I'll keep you posted on how this all comes out and how they work out for me throughout the growing season.
I canned 6 more pints of green beans and........
6 pints of dilly beans for my little dilly bean lover, Andy. We went to the Cranberry Festival in my hometown last weekend and we sampled some dilly beans and Andy looked at me and said - no where near as good as yours Mom and how come you haven't made any yet this year? So I had to make some for my Dilly Bean lover!
It was a busy weekend, but when you can look at your harvest and see what you did, it makes it all worth it.
Tomatoes and Purple (green) Beans
I also canned some beans today - notice how they are green and no longer purple - that happens when you cook them, but the purple color makes them easier to find when you are picking. I also have some green ones but they are just flowering now. I will freeze many of my beans but my son really likes canned ones that are cut french style so I always can a few for him.
Look at those pretty purple beans! Can't wait for dinner tonight to taste them.
