Broad beans that germinated after 30 years of storage and were not damaged by pests.
Grower: Anta Sparinska, Dr. Biol., former director of the University of Latvia Botanical Garden and Bulduri Horticultural Secondary School and editor of the magazine "Dārza pasaule".
Address: Valodze village of Stopiņi district, the garden is located on the banks of Piķurga.
HISTORY
I discovered the broad bean seeds this spring while demolishing our old house. In the pantry, I found a rusty can filled with broad beans, likely dating back to the 1990s. Despite low expectations, I soaked the seeds, planted them, and was rewarded with a bountiful harvest. Remarkably, not a single aphid, black or green, appeared near the plants. At summer's end, I harvested the pods, boiled some, and saved others for next year's planting.
In 1920, when land was distributed to landless peasants, my grandfather acquired this plot of land. He built a small, 100-square-meter house there, which provided shelter to anyone in need during wartime and subsequent periods of upheaval. At times, as many as 67 residents lived in the house, divided into tiny rooms with a stove. Unfortunately, the house was beyond repair and had to be demolished.
The broad beans were inherited from my grandfather, Ērichs Lazda, who was the gardener at Tīnuži Manor. He had inherited this position from his father, Mārtiņš Lazda. My grandfather, who lived to be 101 years old, wandered his beloved garden, his beard fluttering in the breeze, until his final days. He cultivated a variety of plants, including grapes, watermelons, melons, and seedlings for the entire village. Seedbeds and greenhouses were everywhere.
We will undoubtedly include these beans in our heirloom crop collection – their exceptional viability has proven them worthy.
GROWING
As a child, my first gardening task was to sow peas and broad beans. Beans were planted later than peas, which needed to be in the ground by the 100th day. Once, we sowed peas on February 22nd and were eating the pods by Midsummer. Soaked beans had to be planted in warm soil, 5 centimeters deep and about 20 centimeters apart, either in pre-marked furrows or in straight rows made with a furrow plow. I could never sow straight enough. My grandfather watched me closely to ensure I planted in straight rows until his final days. Whenever I heard him approaching the garden, I would run away, knowing I would inevitably receive a scolding.
In August, when the bean pods turned black, the bean plants were pulled from the ground, tied into bundles, and left to dry on nails on the barn wall. They were then shelled in the fall.
Long peas were dried on hay racks.
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