How to harvest kidney beans?

[ThePigeonKid]

I planted kidney beans this year. It is now time to harvest, and I'm not sure exactly how you harvest kidney beans... Do I pick the pods, leave them in the sun to dry and then pick the beans out?

[TrainChaser]

Unless you're expecting a lot of rain, leave them on the vine until the pod shells are very dry and brittle. If you are expecting a lot of rain, wait until the last minute, then pull the whole vine up and hang them in a dry place like the garage, shed or attic (or cut them off just above ground level) to finish drying. Letting them dry naturally is best, however.

Then pick the pods off the vines, half fill a pillowcase with them, and run them through the dryer on low temp for a few minutes. The beating in the dryer breaks the pods up. Then dump them into a tray or shallow pan and pick out the beans.

For long-term storage, they need to be truly dry. Pound a few on a rock with a hammer; if they mash, they're not dry enough, but if they crack and shatter, they're dry enough to store.

Don't try to hurry things up by drying them in an oven or other source of hot heat, but you can use an inexpensive electric dehydrator to finish drying them. (I've seen the cheap ones at thrift shops for about $7.)

If you're saving some of them for planting next year, pick out the biggest, heaviest, meatiest ones -- IOW, the highest quality. Eat the others.

[o&itw]

Good advice from TrainChaser.

I might add one thing. After you take them out of the dryer find a large tub or clean plastic garbage can Put the beans and chaff in a bucket, and, lifting them high, pour them slowly into the other container, outside, on a day with a steady breeze. By winnowing them this way much of the chaff will be blown out of the beans. If the wind is light, you may need to do it a couple of times.

If the container you are pouring them into is to shallow, some of the beans will bounce out of it. I use a large plastic trash can that I normally keep my rabbit feed in. Something heavy like beans is much easier to winnow than lighter kernals like wheat.

[Fire-Man]

Originally Posted by ThePigeonKid

I planted kidney beans this year. It is now time to harvest, and I'm not sure exactly how you harvest kidney beans... Do I pick the pods, leave them in the sun to dry and then pick the beans out?

I went to the grocery store and bought some groceries----I was looking at the kidney beans----I bought a 1lb bag, brought them home and plant the hole bag. When the pods got a good size bean in them I picked/shelled them just like any other bean/pea and cooked them. (You do not have to soak them because they are not dry and hard) If I was going to save them for seed I would let then dry on the bush---then pick. I then lay them under a tin top shed and let them dry a few days before I harvested the dry seeds.

[upnorthlady]

I don't know how many beans you planted, but I always leave them on the vines until they are very dry and brittle, as suggested. You DO have to be diligent about harvesting them before rains, though. I don't like the pillowcase method, because you end up with a lot of 'junk' and maybe some rotten beans to pick out, which is a lot of work in my opinion to clean out. I just pod them out by hand and put the beans in shallow trays to dry some more. I stir up the beans and let them dry until almost Halloween. Then I store them in glass jars - a good use for those canning jars that aren't quite perfect for canning. They last for years. I have baskets of dry beans to pod and whenever anyone comes over to visit, I bring out the coffee and cookies and we have a little bean pod party and visit. Most folks enjoy podding out beans by hand. Of course, if you planted an acre's worth, that's a different story!

[gilberte]

We leave them in the garden until the vines die and the pods turn brown, then we pull the plants and hang them in the garage to dry. When they're dry and brittle we put the whole plants into a big bulap sack, hang it up, and beat the dickens out of it with a stick. Then on a windy day we pour the contents of the bag from one bucket to another. The beans fall into the bucket and the wind blows the chaff away, repeat until chaff is gone. It's lot easier to buy the beans at the store.