Thursday, August 30, 2012

Beans in the backyard 2012, weeks 16 & 17

August 19

You may have noticed the grass slowly going dormant in the wide angle pictures over the last several weeks, although you should notice a gradual regrowth in the image above.  We were blessed with almost 3 inches of rain in two separate showers the week before August 19, so plenty of plants in the area are showing a revival as a result.  The majority of the rain came with stiff winds which caused many of the bean plants to lean more than they had before.  Otherwise, the development of the plants continues with the assistance of the rain.  Some of the plants in the field are beginning to show yellow leaves, but they are a distinct minority right now. This period of development appears to be about R5.5 or R6.

This closeup view shows large pods rapidly filling at the upper nodes.

August 26

The pictures taken this day could be the most lovely ones of the summer since it was raining while I was photographing.  Notice again how much greener the grass is after the 3 inches of rain the week before.  Although no rain fell between August 19 and 26, an all-day rain on the 26th totaled 3.2 inches in one day.  I believe the beans should be benefiting from the rain even in this later stage of development.  Yellow leaves are visible  in the photos today, although they are still in the minority across the field.  Because of the rain, I didn't examine the plants too closely so I'm not sure if any of the early trifoliolate leaves have fallen.  The reading I've done leads me to believe the development stage is probably R6 right now.

These plants still have a long way to go before harvest, but their progress is persistent and encouraging.

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