Chitting Runner Beans for our Bean Tower!

About a month ago I built the kids this teepee structure from various tree limbs/cut young trees that we had piling up behind the back yard. Inspired by pictures on Pintrest, I'm going to try and grow beans up the poles so that it will become a little hideaway for them to play in while I'm gardening (and maybe they will even get curious enough to pick a fresh bean pod and eat it!) I have fond memories of my mother's vegetable garden, sitting on the edge of raised beds, plucking fresh veggies and eating them right off the vine. I credit that experience for why I love vegetables so much. My mother is amused by my fond memories- she swears all she remembers is me whining about how hot/sunny/cold/icky it was to be outside and how much I wanted to be back inside!

Of course, every bean seed in my stash is a bush-type not suited for reaching to these kinds of heights, so I'll be trying something new this year- scarlet runner beans.  To get a jump start, I "chitted" them by soaking them overnight until they swelled and then putting them in a damp paper towel in a plastic bag for two days until I saw little white roots:

You have to handle them very carefully, because that root can break off easily and then the chances of it turning into a plant are slim. I piled up compost around the base of the teepee structure and placed one bean per pole. Unlike what the picture implies, I did plant them with the root going down into the spoil, I promise!

Because this is going to be the kids' corner of the garden, I also added some kid-friendly flowers: sunflowers! I had a bunch of old packets, so I don't even know if any of these will germinate, but I mixed them together and sprinkled them around the outside of the teepee. Then I covered the beans and sunflower seeds with about an inch of compost and watered it all in. Now the worst part- waiting :)

A peek at how the rest of my garden is doing- along the outside of the chainlink fence that keeps my labrador out of my garden are a row of snap peas, guarded by a row of yellow onions, and finally in the bottom there is some spinach. If I get enough for one family meal I will be happy!