68 GROW YOUR OWN VEGETABLES 



But the careful grower can do more than limit his 

 purchases to the exact quantities required ; he can 

 provide his own supplies by a judicious handling of the 

 previous season's crops. Let us take runner beans, for 

 instance. When the plants have begun to shape in the 

 summer, it is a capital idea to select the most vigorous 

 stems and mark them down for seed and not culinary 

 purposes. Tie labels or little bows of red cloth here and 

 there on them to serve as a distinguishing mark from the 

 others, and leave them all through the summer and early 

 autumn. The smallest beans on these selected plants 

 may well be cut for the table if the crop is profuse ; this 

 will give the remainder a better chance of reaching full 

 maturity. Of course, if a pod here and there on all the 

 plants is allowed to ripen fully the whole crop will suffer ; 

 that is why we limit our attentions to certain selected 

 stems. When the pods and leaves have begun to dry the 

 whole sprays are pulled up and hung somewhere in the 

 sun or in a dry shed to complete the process of ripening. 

 After a time the pods will become brittle, and then they 

 must be carefully watched. As soon as they begin to 

 crack and open the beans are removed and placed in a 

 shallow tray where the sun can complete its work of 

 drying and ripening. 



When thoroughly dry they may be stored in jars or 

 glass bottles, but the place of storage must be neither 

 damp nor close to a frequently used gas burner. 



What has been said of runner beans applies also to 

 peas and all other pod-bearing plants. With such things 

 as carrots, parsnips, turnips, and celery, the best course 

 is to plant fine specimens of each in the spring, or leave 

 roots in the ground from last year's crop. They will 



