Cunti Muni de los Yaquis

These beans are an important part of helping us improve the soil and create a friendly desert habitat. So easy, and so rewarding. Easily handles full July sun.

Planted all the seeds in four rows in a raised former flower and vegetable garden area, roughly 6' x 10'. Had been fallow for 4-5 years, but I worked in about 3" shredded wood from the Tempe recycling yard and a light dose of 10-10-10 fertilizer. The area gets sunlight currently from early morning until mid-late afternoon. Seed spacing was per the envelope. I dropped the beans into their holes but did not soak them overnight or plant with the eye down.

Estimate only half germinated and there is no pattern as to which came up and which did not. May be due to not being soaked or oriented, don't know. Most took 2-3 days after breaking ground until the seedling stood upright and the first hints of leaves appeared. As of now the largest still only have two leaves but two that may have had their leaves nibbled on seem to be trying for a second set of leaves.

At first I watered daily, now daily if hot or every two days if cooler. Ground appears dry on the surface but is damp underneath. Corn planted in a fifth row and in the basin at the end are thriving, close to 90+% germination overall and 100% in the row.

The 13 Apache gourds planted intermixed with the corn are a disappointment, 4 in the row came up and remain small with their two leaves. Two were planted elsewhere, one at the base of a Red Push Pistache tree in granite came up before the others and is doing well with multiple leaves, one planted below shredded bark in the dirt under an elm is also doing well but is not as large. These were planted so the gourds would hang and thus have straight handles. Both are near bubblers and are watered M-W-F.

The sunflowers and one envelope of amaranth have not yet been planted. The other envelope was given to a friend who has held off as everything in her garden was eaten by insects. She is from Africa where amaranth leaves are what is eaten, not the seeds, and we hope these leaves will prove to be edible.

Four stars for now as I did get germination and I expect there should be enough crop for seeds next year and at least one good meal. Can provide photos if you wish.

Unrelated to your seeds, but this winter I planted spaghetti squash seeds from a store bought one that was rotten inside. Same soil and exposures and close to 100% germination.

A friend bought the original seed packet for our dry California garden, but I now grow these beans in my garden outside Boston with great success. The seeds are incredibly easy to save (I have multiple years saved) and the beans are delicious as green beans. I will probably try eating the dried beans one of these years as my store of beans saved for seeds is way more than I can use at this point.