A neighbor has given us an 80 ft long tall hoop greenhouse!  We have to move it to our land/ dig a water line and one for electricity for it, which will be a lot of work, but what a blessing. This way , we can grow fresh food year round and even grow papaya trees….which I’ve been studying for PD nutritional support also.
God is good!
Blessings……
Aunt Bean
All posts by Parkinsons Recovery
Harvesting Mucuna Beans
Things are going well. Just planted a 50 foot raised bed of two rows of fava bean. Now there are hoop frames in place so they can be covered if the temperatures drop to 26 degrees. I really feel like they could grow here year round with a few nights of protection in the winter.
I started harvesting the mucuna beans we have growing up the backside of the barn. Shelled and steamed them and tried one. It tasted so good that I ate another one (no discipline!) Well, it was a bit too much…I’ve found that one very small one is about right for me and holds me a long time. (probably 1/2 of a full sized one would be enough). I think I will try to tincture them…not sure how yet.
The chickens have a fenced area in back of the barn now. We dug potatoes and peanuts and still need to dig sweet potatoes. Need to dry some more comfrey leaves and make echinacea tincture yet and cook up some more kushaw pumpkins to freeze for pie.  Then, perhaps I can slow down here and enjoy making music with friends and at the nursing homes in the area…they enjoy the music so very much.
That’s all for now…enjoy the fall weather and beautiful colors all around us.
Blessings …….Aunt Bean
Mucuna Bean and Fava Bean Harvest
We started harvesting mucuna beans yesterday. The vines have gotten to at least 14 ft tall up the back side of our barn. Some of the vines reached the top and turned the corner, starting around the side !
The beans pods are very hard to open, which is necessary in getting the beans out. I preyed and cut on them with a knife and each one took a couple of minutes (a bit time consuming and hard on the fingers).  The next bunch I tried steaming the whole bean pod and then opening them up. That was a bit faster, still not easy…but the beans were already steamed and ready to pop out of their inner rubbery covering when it was done. So, that will be the method of choice for the next batch I pick.
I ate 2 steamed beans in place of a fava tincture dose. They definitely worked, but may have been a bit more than I needed…I was ready to wrestle tigers, but I got a lot of work done in the next few hours, with no bad effects.
Today I tried just one bean in place of tincture. My tapping was not as quick, but I am completely functional on one. So, time will tell if the mucunas will be grown next year…they are a lot of work when it comes to shelling them, unless I can find an easier method. But, they work.
I have harvested several batches of fava plant tops now and a few beans. Have had a little trouble with aphids on the plants on the farm, and will probably have to make a point of spraying them with mild dish soap & water every week or so to avoid plant damage. Have started making raised beds to cover and try to grow favas all winter. Will let you know if this works…….
Blessings!
Aunt Bean
I Would Never Guess He Had PD
Hi Robert….just wanted to fill you in on the farm.  Things are going well…couldn’t do it without Dad, who just turned 85. He brush-hogged for me this week.
A young man with PD drove over from Knoxville area and helped in the garden last Tuesday and then came to our support group meeting. He was a real encouragement to me. He is the only person I’ve met with PD that excercizes like I do. He rides long distances on his bicycle, sometimes with his airforce buddies. He is in great shape and I would never guess that he had PD. It helped me alot to know that people out there do care about what I am trying to do on the farm. Plus he helped me make a long raised bed to hoop frame & cover for winter favas. I think we might be able to grow them year round here if they have a cover.
Still picking green beans, greens , beets, carrots, tomatoes and hopefully corn on Saturday. God is Good. Have several small batches of tincture made, and saw my first couple of fall fava beans on the plants yesterday.
Blessings to all
Aunt Bean
Why Not Grow Your Own Fava Beans?
Well, dad is doing ok, but taking it easy the last few days. This morning I finished “banking or hilling” the rows of fava beans and found some of them are starting to make tops already, the part I use for medicine. It is always exciting to start seeing the tops form.
I hope more people will start growing their own favas to replace l-dopa. Especiallly people who have not yet started on pharmaceuticals. Always get a G6pd blood test first and make sure you are not taking MAOI meds.
The farm is looking good. The chickens are happy. LIFE IS GOOD.
Blessings from Aunt Bean
Fall Planting of Fava Beans
Latest report on the farm: Aug 2nd…a few of the fall planting of favas are starting to put on blooms. The chickens are doing well and we are getting 2 eggs a day. The local feed store finally got in barley for me…I like to use barley for a cover crop in the winter.
Dad had trouble with the tractor this week. He finally got it started and brush hogged the fields, plowed some for me and then the tractor quit again. He is busy trying to figure out why it’s not starting again. Always something to do, we don’t get bored.
I have started putting down cardboard boxes (broken down of course) in the pathways and laying cut grass on top of them. I’ve dug the grass out so many times and it comes back so quick…hard to get anything else done. Soil is getting dry again and we are hoping for rain again this weekend. Started harvesting a few cushaw pumpkins…they make the best pies!
Blessings to all.
Favas Survived the Rainstorm
Well, we survivied the last rainstorm and the last favas I planted are coming up now. The asparagus grown from seed this year is growing wonderfully. We have just given 5 hens/a rooster/ and two young chickens. Dad and I built a chicken tractor (a mobile housing coup,  with a run enclosed so predators can’t get to the chickens…. We have lots of foxes around our area.  So, this has been our newest adventure on the farm. Sure sounds like a farm now!
Blessings to all!
Fava Beans Survived the Heavy Rains
Dear Robert
Just wanted to fill you in on my exciting news. I got home from work after all the storms, and the fava seedlings had not washed away…as a matter of fact, I have a pretty good stand of them.  They “held their ground” just like we have to do & kept “on top of things. I planted about 6 more pounds of seed this weekend in raised rows…so with the continuing rains, they should be ok. The garden did “wash ” quite a bit and I have gullies from the “little rivers cutting their way thru during the times when the Cloud-bursts came.   Anyway, so far all is well in the fava patch so far, praise God.
Pray for a good fall crop!   Blessings to all..
Aunt Bean
P.S. Well, Dad called and said he just watched another muddy river going past the front of the house….The favas made it thru the last heavy rains…perhaps they are “hanging in there” once again…they are surely amazing and a gift from God. He has promised to supply all our needs.
When It Rains It Pours
We finally had rain…the first actual rain in weeks. 2 hrs of gentle and then a “belly-washer”. There was a river of brown mud going down in front of the house. I am at work and will not get to see if any damage was done until Friday evening (the new sprouting beans could all have been washed away)
I have just purchased 25 lbs of favas and can replace them, but our fall crop will be 2 weeks ( plus ) behind schedule. God knows best. Will let you know how things look next week.
Blessings,
Aunt Bean
First Fava Beans of the Fall
It’s August already and the very first of the fall Favas are beginning to emerge from out off the ground. I am so thankful that at least some of them didn’t die in the terrible drought conditions we have experienced. I will know how many survived in about a week after more pop through the hard ground.
They are the most amazing plant I have ever seen. So vigorous under such adverse conditions. Just the way we have to be…
don’t give up..keep pressing on…bend with the wind andbecome stronger day by day.
A local health food store just got me in 25 lbs of organic, sproutable fava beans. The company didn’t know the variety, but all favas contain l-dopa … so it’s ok. Certain ones might not do as well in our area, but we shall see! Just keep praying for rain for the farm.
If we can harvest enough tops, then I can dry them, and be able to sell them to people with PD along with instructions on how to make their own tincture at home.
I did harvest some grapes and am trying an experiment. I juiced the grapes thru a champion juicer. It “spit out” the seeds and skins. I dried them and placed them in a jar, covering them with brandy. That will set for a month and be shaken daily (like the fava tincture) We’ll see if it has any effect.
Will let you know if a good crop of Windsors comes up and when the new beans are planted that we’ve been blessed with.
Aunt Bean