2009 August - HappyFarming.com by Thomas Wagner Nielsen

Peaches Finally Ripening

Aug 18 2009

My peach tree is starting to bend due to the weight of ripening peaches. They’re sucking up a lot of water in the process, which is good so they’ll get really juicy before harvest time. I guess I have to drill a hole in the wall to build a support for the tree. An old seat belt should do the trick for now. It will support the tree through a large surface and shouldn’t damage the stem. If only I was allowed to pick up this kind of stuff from the local recycling site, but nooo, we have to throw everything away so we can buy NEW stuff and keep the wheels turning. As you can tell I’m still worried about the planets ressources and what happens if or when they run out. And that’s why I keep growing food in my own frekkin front yard. Wonder when there will be a law against that too. Gotta keep the big wheels turning. Enjoy the frekkin pictures.
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Taking Care of Runner Beans

Aug 9 2009

I have 6 runner bean plants in my garden this year, climbing up bamboo sticks. I’ve checked all 6 six of them to be sure, but pictures of the three of them is enough for what I want to show you:

Notice which direction they all turn around the bamboo stick? Counter-clockwise. This is good to know if you want to help them get a good start up the trellis. Supposedly they’re going to untie themselves until they are allowed to go the preferred way around. I believe they’re going the other way around on the southern hemisphere, but I haven’t verified that Please leave a comment if you have checked it out.
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6 Responses to “Taking Care of Runner Beans”
1. Thomas Winther said on September 10th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
  
  I haven’t verified growing direction in the southern hemisphere, but I did watch a science show a while back where they studied plant growth on the International Space Station (in a no-gravity environment).
  
  Guess which way the plants turned there? None! Neither clockwise nor counter-clockwise. They grew straight up. So I guess it’s reasonable to assume that gravity is at least part of what’s making plants turn in a particular direction.
  
  Since plants on the southern hemisphere are sort of upside down compared to plants in the northern hemisphere, I suppose it’s plausible that they might turn the other way. But then again the Earth spins in the same direction in both hemispheres, so I guess it’s equally plausible that it turns the same way
  
  I guess it has to be confirmed or denied by someone actually living in the southern hemisphere. So please excuse my rambling ;-D
2. Thomas W. said on September 11th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
  
  @Thomas Winther: Welcome back, and thank you for the info Very interesting.
  
  Australia – we’re depending on you now
3. Adele said on December 14th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
  
  I live in Central America, and will be planting yard beans in a few weeks (waiting for delivery of some nitrogen fix). I’ll be happy to let you know whether they go clock or counter – clockwise. Stay tuned:)
  ~A
4. Thomas W. said on December 16th, 2009 at 10:55 am
  
  @Adele: Good luck with your beans. In my experience they grow and yield like crazy, once they get started. It would be great if you could report back
5. Annie said on February 14th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
  
  Hi,
  I live in the southern hemisphere, ( South Africa, near Cape Town)….
  my Runner Beans, Jasmine & English Honeysuckle all grow in an anti-clockwise direction around their support….. I was also fascinated about this tendancy , & thought that maybe in the northern hemisphere it might be in the opposite direction. I can confirm however that water going down the ‘plug ‘goes in an anti -clockwise direction.
6. Thomas W. said on February 16th, 2010 at 5:02 pm
  
  @Annie: So you’re telling me, that your beans in the southern hemisphere are turning in the same direction as mine on the northern hemisphere? I guess the case is solved then: The growing direction is the same all over the Earth, and in space there is no direction. Then the direction must be decided by their genes. So now we’re comparing different kinds of beans instead But there is probably no difference at all.
  Regarding the direction of the water I heard that it was a myth. I had hoped that plants were smart enough to figure out where they lived, but okay, they’re not. Myth Busted™
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