So way back in January, Ethan did a science experiment with pinto beans. We placed the beans in a jar of water lined with paper towels, and within a few days we could start to see the beans germinating. The beans continued to grow so we (Jim) planted them in some soil. Ethan watered the plant, and it continued to grow. When we were gone in Salem for three weeks, we put it in the sink with some water, hoping to keep the plant alive. Not only did it survive, but we came back to see this:
That's right, our very own bean pod. Now for those of you who are scientifically minded, you might be wondering how a houseplant was able to produce a bean pod without being pollinated. Well, this is our theory: a few weeks ago, we noticed that there were some ladybugs who were making their annual house-pestering trip. We spotted them on the bean plant when it was flowering, so we think that they are responsible. At least some good came out of their visit!
So while we were excited to see the plant produce beans, we were not so happy about this:
I wasn't particularly keen on having non-edible fungi in my kitchen so the plant was therefore transplanted outside, hanging on for dear life in the hot South Carolina summer heat. So far it is still alive.
Overall, a very fun and worthwhile experiment :-)
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