Weatherbury Farm Grain Tracker
From Planting to Harvest, Zorro Black Turtle Beans in the field:
The plow (on the right) turns the soil over and harrow (on the left) smooths soil to be a good seedbed.
Planting the Zorro Black Beans
May & June are a busy time of year — not only are we planting spring crops, but we also have to deal with rain. The field has to be dry for crops to be planted.
Happy 4th of July from the black beans, which have grown quite a lot in the week since they were planted.
Look closely and you will see that the beans are just about ready to flower.
The beans are beginning to dry down.
Harvesting the Zorro Black Beans
Unloading the beans into a wagon for the trip back to the farm where they will be dried and cleaned.
Zorro Black Bean Field
Zorro Black Turtle Bean Facts 2021
In 2021, Zorro Black Turtle Beans were grown in Independence Township on the farm known as “Pleasant View Farm.” This farm was established in 1824 by J.M Welsh. Welsh is listed in the Caldwell Atlas as a farmer, grain, stock and wool grower.
The farm was dormant for many years; however since 2006, organic grains and hay were grown on this farm. Weatherbury Farm has farmed this land since 2017. The farm has been certified organic since 2006.
The Zorro Black Turtle Bean were planted on one field of 2 acres on June 26, 2021 .
The Zorro Black Turtle Beans were harvested on November 30, 2021.
For an illustrated explanation of how Weatherbury grains become flour, visit the from seed to flour page.
About Zorro Black Turtle Beans
Organic Black Turtle Beans
Beans were one of the first foods that were gathered and prepared by humans; some researchers think that black beans may have been the first legume to be domesticated for food. Black beans were first consumed in Mexico and South America about 7,000 years ago, .
Black beans are quite difficult to grow in our area (witness our crop loss in 2016 and 2018). We plant Zorro Black Turtle Beans because their mounding characteristic shades out weeds.
Products from Zorro Black Turtle Beans
Zorro Black Turtle Beans are cleaned and offered as dry beans. For best results, beans should be soaked overnight before cooking to achieve optimum texture and flavor. With their rich full flavor, black turtle beans are suited for everything from baked beans to soups to Latin cuisine.
Health benefits of Black Beans
Black beans are a nutritional powerhouse, loaded with protein, fiber, molybdenum, copper and zinc. They have more antioxidant benefits, gram for gram than other beans. In addition to protein, black beans provide lots of fiber (both soluble and insoluble). Both protein and fiber can help you stay fuller longer as well as decreasing your risk of many chronic diseases.
More Information
Zorro Black Turtle Beans can be ordered at our online shop either for our monthly on-farm pickup or you can have your order sent to you.
To read more about black beans, please visit our Black Turtle Beans page.
More information on Zorro Black Turtle Beans and other grains are on the grains grown page.