Jerry’s Pea Beans are Maturing

This is a picture of my pea beans or second crop beans after peas I took Wednesday afternoon. It was five or six days ago I noticed the leaves were starting to turn yellow. That is a sign that the beans are nearing maturity. When I planted them on July 15 I knew there was a good chance they might not reach maturity before the killing frost. But then again, there was a chance they might make it, so I planted them. There is a possibility of a frost Friday night into Saturday morning. Even if there is a killing frost, when beans start to yellow you will have 90 percent of their yield potential.

One of the things I considered before I planted the beans was the long-term forecast that was calling for above-normal temperatures. That turned out to be accurate! In fact, the last weekly weather update from the Southern Research and Outreach Center showed we have received more than 2,900 growing degree units this growing season; the average is around 2,400. All you can say is so far so good but the weather must continue to be favorable. It is always a challenge to get late planted beans dry enough to harvest. However, the weather has been in my favor, so maybe it will continue?