Soybean crop can cultivate gardening interest in kids

How do you get your children to eat more vegetables? Try having them grow their own vegetables in the garden.

Gardeners of any age in Hawaii enjoy planting soybeans and eating the tender beans as a snack. The pods are ready to be picked about 65 to 70 days after planting, when they are plump and before they turn yellow.

Wash the pods, then parboil them in lightly salted water. You can also steam them in the microwave. Pinch the bean out of the pod and pop them into your mouth for a nutritious, tasty snack.

Garden soybean is a warm-season crop, and low temperatures usually delay the production of flowers. The University of Hawaii "Kahala" soybean variety is adapted to Hawaii’s conditions and can be grown year-round.

Soybean varieties from Japan, known as edamame, should be planted between March and August.

Before planting soybeans prepare the soil by mixing in well-rotted compost and 2 to 3 pounds of fertilizer per 100 square feet. Plant the seeds about 1 inch deep and space the seeds 3 to 4 inches apart in rows, and space the rows about 18 inches apart.

Birds love the young tender seed leaves, called cotyledons, so cover the planted area with netting or floating row covers until the first true leaves emerge.

Plants infected by soybean rust, a serious fungal disease, should be removed and discarded. Root rot can be avoided by improving soil drainage. Occasional insect pests include whiteflies, Chinese rose beetles and mites.

Plants grow to 2 feet or so and are somewhat downy. The small white flowers emerge along the stem and mature into pods about 2 to 3 inches long and a half-inch wide and usually contain two to three beans.

When ready for harvest, the whole plant is usually pulled up, and the bean pods are pulled from the plant. Soybean is a legume plant in the bean family, and when inoculated with rhizobia bacteria, it produces nitrogen nodules in the roots. The nodules on soybean roots are white, about one-eighth-inch diameter. These nitrogen nodules help to improve soil fertility.

Soybeans originated from eastern Asia. The Chinese cultivated soybeans for over 4,000 years and used the oil for lamps and stoves. It was spread to southeastern Asia and Japan and today is one of the most widely grown crops in the world.

Soybeans are high in protein, oil, calcium and vitamins, and have many uses. The main production of soybeans is for the dry seeds to be used for animal feed. While the green-seeded types are used as vegetable soybeans, the yellow-seeded types are ground into flour or processed to produce soy milk and tofu.

Encourage your child to help in the garden. It will help them to become young gardeners and send them on their way to exploring and learning about plant growth as well as eating a more nutritious snack.

Richard Ebesu is an extension agent with the CTAHR Kauai Cooperative Extension Service.