Heirloom Cranberry Bean Seed from Wal-Mart?

I was recently buying some groceries at Wal-Mart when I came across one pound bags of cranberry beans for 92 cents U.S.  Cranberry beans are a kind-of pinto looking bean, only the markings are a distinctive cranberry red with some of the beans being almost solid red. 

I like to experiment with different types of heirloom plants, and I had actually looked at cranberry beans on an heirloom seed website.  The website was selling their cranberry beans for $3.00 U.S. for 40 beans.  This seemed a little rich for my taste so I took a pass on them.  And here I am now looking at a pound of cranberry beans for 92 cents.  Now 40 beans this size weigh just a hair less than one ounce (28 grams), so a one pound bag should contain around 640 beans.  That means my $3.00 dollars will buy me 40 beans from the website or 1920 beans from Wal-Mart, so I figured, “What the heck, I’ll give it a try.”  I remember when I was a kid, if my dad was going to plant black-eyed peas, he’d just buy a bag of peas at the grocery store and plant them. So I was hoping this would still work for me 60 years later.

There are a couple of things that could go wrong with this plan.  For one, the beans could be hybrids that would not reproduce true to type, or they could be genetically modified to produce sterile seeds that won’t germinate.  I reasoned that both of these scenarios were pretty unlikely.  I haven’t really ever heard of hybrid beans.  They may exist, but it seems that a little selective breeding over the years has made beans pretty much perfect, so what are the advantages of hybridizing them?  As for genetic modification with a terminator gene, I think that this is usually reserved for big money crops like corn, wheat, rice, and soybeans.  I don’t think cranberry beans are that big in the agri-biz world.  In fact, these at Wal-Mart are the first ones I’ve seen outside of a seed catalogue.  So, long story short, I think these are probably a genuine, non-hybrid, non-GMO, heirloom seed.  Time will definitely tell.

The second thing that could go wrong is that these beans may be pretty old which could lower their germination rate.  Unless seeds are properly stored; which is to say cold, dark, and dry; their germination rate will decrease each year until at some point it’s not worth the effort to plant them.  Another thing that could affect the germination is if the seeds have been exposed to high heat.  One advantage of buying from a reputable seed company is that the seed will, most likely, be fresh and properly stored to assure good germination.  But, as you can tell from the numbers above, premium seeds mean premium prices.

The only way to tell if the seed is going to germinate is to plant some and see if it germinates, and the only way to see if it is heirloom seed is to raise a crop and plant seed from it next year to see if it will produce another crop.  If it works I get a lifetime supply of cranberry beans.  If it doesn’t work, I’m out 92 cents and a little labor.

So I took my Wal-Mart cranberry beans and planted 80 of them.  I planted them ¾” deep and about 6 to 8 inches apart in 2 rows that are about 8 inches apart.  I tamped the soil down over them, and watered them in. 

The first beans started breaking ground on the 6^th day after planting.  On the 9^th day the beans were up and growing.  I had 67 beans that germinated.  If my math is right that’s a germination rate of about 84%. 

This looks to be about the same as the pink-eyed purple hull peas (on the left below) that I planted from saved seed, and maybe a little better than the Kentucky wonder beans (on the right below) that I bought at the feed store.

So, the first hurdle has been cleared.  The beans germinated.  Now I need to see if they produce any beans.  I’ll up-date this post in a couple of months, and hopefully will include pictures of me picking cranberry beans.

13 Things You’ll Wish You had when Your Smart Phone is Useless

I recently watched a video called “Thirty Things Your Iphone has Replaced.”  It’s pretty interesting to see how many things that used to be common accessories in everyone’s homes 25 years ago, have been made obsolete by the smart phone.  One good example would be that most families used to have a set of encyclopedias.  Who buys encyclopedias now that you can go on your internet connected smart phone and look up anything you want?

But, this video got me to thinking about the flip-side of the smart phone as an information multi-tool.  What would happen if your smart phone was suddenly rendered useless?  What items would you wish that you had if your smart phone cratered?  What follows is a short list for your consideration:

Communication Devices

Although it is used for many other purposes, the smart phone is still primarily a means of communication.  The network of cell towers that supports this technology is extremely vulnerable to EMP attacks.  If an EMP attack ever occurred, cell phone service would probably end.  Some alternatives to the cell phone might include hardwired field telephones for close by communication, rechargeable walkie-talkies and CB base stations for wider area (but still fairly limited) communications, and shortwave radio for long distance communication.

Compass

It never fails to amaze me when people show up for a survival class and expect to use the compass tool on their cell phone as a real compass.  No, no, no, no!  So many things can go wrong with a cell phone or its related infrastructure.  They are far too unreliable to ever take the place of a real compass.  Spend the $10 and buy a real compass to stick in you bug out bag or glove box.

Maps

Google Maps and various GPS applications have made paper maps virtually obsolete.  Don’t fall into this trap.  You need to at least have a state road map.  Better still; buy several topographic maps of the area around your home.

Flashlight

Everybody uses the flashlight on their smart phone.  Yes, it’s very convenient, but have a back-up.  You need an LED flashlight, rechargeable batteries, and a solar battery charger.

Books

No more looking things up on Google, no more reading e-books from Amazon; you’re going to have to go old school.  It’s a shame that books take up so much space, but it’s a burden you’ll just have to bare.  You’ll need books on gardening, plant identification, canning and food preservation,  first aid and medical guides, repair manuals, gunsmithing books; all of the practical how-to books that you can find.  You’ll need books for entertainment (stick to the timeless classics), and don’t forget the children’s books.  If you have room throw in a set of encyclopedias.

Games

You won’t be playing Candy Crunch on your smart phone anymore.  Buy a deck of cards, some dominoes, a few dice, a set of checkers with board, and a chess set.  A few old school board games wouldn’t hurt either.  Yatzee once got my wife and I through six months without electricity when we were young.  Also, definitely buy a copy of Hoyle’s Rules of Games.  It has the rules and how to play every card and dice game you’ve ever heard of and a bunch that you haven’t heard of.

Pencil and Paper

Everybody takes notes, makes grocery lists, etc on their smart phones.  Without a working smart phone you’ll need to do it the old fashioned way with a paper and pencil.  Buy yourself a couple of boxes of pencils and a few spiral notebooks.  They don’t take up much space, and they could come in very handy.

Musical Instrument

You won’t be listening to that play list anymore after your smart phone bites the dust.  How about learning to play a musical instrument?  My wife and I belong to a re-enactment group that uses no gear more modern than 1836.  We always have a campfire with a group sing-along.  One person plays guitar, a couple of people play the boron (a kind of Celtic hand drum), one plays the harmonica, and another plays the penny whistle and sometimes the fiddle.  The rest of us sing along loudly and poorly, and we all have a great time.

Weather Instruments

No more weather app, so buy yourself a thermometer, a barometer, and a rain gauge.  Learn a little about cloud formations and weather prediction. 

Calendar

The calendar and alerts function on your smart phone is very handy; but if your smart phone is useless, you’ll wish that you had an old time paper calendar.  Some businesses still give them away for free, or you can buy one or print one off of the internet.

Self Winding Watch

Hardly anyone under the age of 50 wears a wristwatch any more.  Most people just glance down at the screen of their ever present smart phone.  Knowing the exact time may not be all that important in a survival situation, but if you feel the need to know the time you will need an old fashioned wrist watch.  I would recommend a good quality self winding watch so you don’t have to worry about batteries running out.  I had a not so high quality self winder that lasted for over 10 years without repair.  Hey, if you have deep pockets buy a Rolex and you’ll probably be fixed for life.

Photo Album

If you have pictures that mean a lot to you; spouse, children, parents, etc; print them out and put them in a photo album.  You should do this anyway.  You could lose or damage your phone, and the pictures would be lost. 

Solar Powered Calculator

Unless you are an engineer or a math teacher you probably depend on the calculator on your smart phone.  You really should buy an inexpensive solar powered calculator as a back-up in case your smart phone becomes useless.

Well, there’s my little list.  Now, I have to admit that I don’t even own a smart phone, so I’m sure that some of you smart phone owners can come up with a lot of things that should be added to this list.  If you think of anything feel free to add it in the comments section below. 

Make Dutch Oven Biscuits

Let me start off by saying that there are a lot of different recipes for biscuits, and several different methods of cooking them in a Dutch oven.  I don’t claim to have the ultimate biscuit cooking knowledge.  This recipe for biscuits is what I would call a survivalist recipe.  It uses only basic ingredients that can be stored for a good while; no butter, or milk, or buttermilk, etc.  You can change the recipe to make a tastier biscuit; but, truth is, these are not too shabby.

The cooking equipment that you’ll need is:

Medium size mixing bowl

Half-cup measure

Teaspoon measure

Bowl or coffee pot to hold water

Fork

Dutch oven

Biscuit pan

3 lug nuts or small stones to put under the biscuit pan

Lid lifter

Camp shovel

The recipe ingredients are:

2 cups self-rising flour

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup vegetable shortening or lard

Water

Before you mix up your biscuit dough you need to build a good hardwood fire.  You need some good coals to cook on, and it may take from 45 minutes to an hour for your fire to burn down properly.

Once your fire is built, set your Dutch oven next to the fire in order to pre-heat it.  Turn the Dutch oven occasionally to heat it evenly.

When the fire has burned down pretty good, it is time to mix up your biscuit dough.  This recipe is for a small batch that will feed two or three people.  Start by placing two cups of self-rising flour in your mixing bowl.

Add one teaspoon of salt and mix it into the flour.

Next add ½ cup of shortening or lard (for a better biscuit use half butter and half shortening).

Use your fork to cut the shortening into the flour. 

Mash and mix until the shortening is evenly distributed and the flour looks like coarse sand.

 Now you can start adding water (or milk or buttermilk for a tastier biscuit).  Add the water a little at a time, mixing as you go.

Keep adding water until you have a dough that doesn’t stick to the mixing bowl or your hands.

Let the dough rest for a few minutes while you grease your biscuit pan with shortening.

For quick and easy camp biscuits I like to tear off chunks of the dough, press them into a ¾ inch thick disk with my fingers, and place them in the biscuit pan.  If you’re cooking in the kitchen, you can roll the dough out on a floured cutting board and cut the biscuits out with a biscuit cutter.  They don’t taste any different.  They just look prettier.

Now turn to your fire and shovel out a bed of coals to set your Dutch oven on.

Put your three lug nuts in the bottom of the Dutch oven,

And set your biscuit pan down into the oven.  The lug nuts will hold the pan up off of the bottom of the oven and allow the heat to circulate around the pan better.

Put the lid on the Dutch oven and shovel an even layer of coals onto the lid.

Let the biscuits cook for ten minutes, then use your lifter to rotate the Dutch oven 180 degrees one direction. Then lift the lid and rotate it 180 degrees back the other direction.  This is, again, to try and keep the heat distributed evenly.

Let the biscuits cook for another ten minutes then carefully remove the lid. 

You should now have a nicely cooked pan of hot biscuits waiting for some butter and jelly or maybe a nice ladle full of sausage gravy.