Do you want to know more about harvesting beans? Check out this article about my first kidney bean harvest.

I grow an extra large batch of beans around every other year. Something I mainly do to refill my stocks of dried beans. These particular beans are so easy to grow! They don't need any special treatment at all. I sow them, plant and then harvest at the end of the season. That's it! This is actually my first kidney bean harvest. I'm so excited!

Read more: How to freeze soy beans

Simple Kidney Bean Harvest

I started cutting the plants when I noticed that the pods began to dry. Then, I put them in the greenhouse to dry. This is in my opinion the easiest way to do a bean harvest, since it allows the pods to ripen properly while they dry too.

After the pods dry, I just pinch them off the plants. I wanted to use a few handfuls of pods as decoration, so I removed the beans from the pods by hand. This is something I don't usually do though. Generally, I separate the pods and beans by putting them in a pillowcase which I then step on. It's so easy to just throw the broken little pod pieces away, and then you're all set with a tray full of beans. My first kidney bean harvest seems to be going great so far!

Read more: Harvesting fava beans

This is what the beans I planted looked like in spring. We have the brown bean variety Katja on the left, then cannellino beans and the kidney bean variety Canadian Wonder. 

I usually let the beans dry individually after picking them from the pods. This is something you want to remember when harvesting beans. The beans might go bad and start to mold if you don't.

Look at these lovely kidney beans! The variety is called Canadian Wonder. I haven't tried the beans yet, but I'm looking forward to making a festive red bean salad at New Year!

Read more: Storing dried beans

Tips on Drying Beans

I grow this type of bean to dry and store long-term. If you want to try drying your bean harvest yourself, there are a few things you should know. I don't use any special equipment to dry my beans and instead just use natural methods. The most important thing is to make sure that the beans are entirely dry when you put them in a jar over winter.

My method:

• dry on the plants
• dry inside in the pods
• pick them from the pods and dry separately

This three-step project is pretty much bullet proof, as long as you put your pods and beans in a dry spot of course. If the area is damp though, we might just get a mold outbreak instead. We don't want that to happen!

More about beans: How to grow fava bean shoots

This might be my first kidney bean harvest, but I have more experience with other types of beans. For example cannellino, borlotto, flageolet bean and black beans. Why not try growing beans at home too?

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/Sara Bäckmo