Got Milk? (I'll need it for my protein)

Thursday, July 13, 2006

On the seed packet, it said that these green soybeans -- the Tohya variety of edamame -- are 40% protein. That's so much protein that they're nicknamed "the meat without bones."

Well... throw me a fish or a slice of chicken, please, because I'm definitely not going to get enough protein from the few beans we've got here -- about six pods, at most. And these are on one -- yes, only one -- lonely little plant. Out of about 12 seeds, it was the only one that germinated.

So I went back to the seed sowing instructions and I saw there was a note: "Seed does not store well and old seed is a big contributor to home garden failure." (Hmmm... I hope they meant "crop failure" because complete "home garden failure" sounds rather ominous to me.) I guess I got a packet of tired, old seeds. Bummer.

Well, with nothing to lose at this point, I sowed a bunch more seeds the other day. I mean, if they're not going to keep until next year, why not just give them a try? It's probably too late in the season, though; I realize.

Of course, I could just say I'll stick to buying bags of edamame from the frozen foods aisle and be done with it. But then again, the gardener in me -- the tenacious me -- doesn't want to give up. I really want to grow some of my own.

So maybe, just maybe, with a fresh packet of seeds, I'll have better luck next year. I'm willing to give it one more try.

5 Comments:

Blogger Jessica Harwood said...

Yummm....edamame!

I like thawing some in the fridge and just eating them raw.

12:04 AM  
Blogger Stunned Donor said...

I had a really great crop of edamame last year. I got the seed from Seedsavers.org and the variety was "Envy". Give it a try again next year.

I had the same crop failure problem with some pepper seeds that I brought back form Italy, I didn't get a single plant and then I lloked at the package.. they were good for season 2003-2005... D'oh!

9:30 AM  
Blogger Carol Michel said...

Edamame. I tried those for a few years, but the bunnies ate them as fast as they germinated, so I've been relunctant to try again!

10:39 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Aha! I must have had old seed... I planted darn near a whole package of them, presoaking and everything, but got ZERO germination. Argh. Like you, maybe I will try the rest of the package for a fall crop anyway...

10:48 AM  
Blogger Christa said...

Nelumbo,
I've never tried edamame raw, but...hmm, why not?

Steven,
Thanks for the tip about the "Envy" variety. I usually order a bunch of things from Seedsavers anyway, so I'll have to give that a try.

Carol,
Now you're making we wonder if we have rabbits visiting our garden!

Blackswamp girl,
Go for it, for a fall crop. We've got nothin' to lose, right?

9:24 AM  

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

Home