Soybeans are a type of legume that can be eaten and are very nutritious because they contain lots of calcium, protein, iron, magnesium, fiber, and various other vitamins and minerals. Soybean is also a very versatile food ingredient because it can be cooked, dried, fermented, and converted into several products such as milk, tofu, flour, and so on. Soybeans are agricultural crops, but you can also grow them in your backyard as long as the weather is favorable (warm weather for 5 months).
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Part 1 of 3: Planting Seeds
Step 1. Determine the right type of seed
There are thousands of different types of soybeans. If you want to eat soybeans, be sure to choose green, edible varieties. If you want to make soy milk or flour, look for yellow varieties of soybeans. If you plan to dry soybeans, look for black varieties.
Step 2. Choose the right soil
Choosing the right soil for soybeans will provide many benefits, including reducing weed numbers, being resistant to erosion, and having a good balance of nutrients and pH in the soil. This can produce healthy plants with better yields.
- The best type of soil for soybeans is dry loam that is not too dense.
- If you are using soil with a high clay content, make it suitable for growing soybeans by mixing it with peat moss, mulch, or sand.
Step 3. Plant at the right time
Soybeans will usually produce a bountiful harvest if planted in May, although you should also consider the temperature of the soil.
If you live in an area with 4 seasons, the ideal time to start growing soybeans is 2 to 3 weeks after the last frost, and when the soil reaches a warm temperature of around 15.5 C
Step 4. Prepare the nursery
You must prepare soil that has a good balance of nutrients so that soybean plants can grow well. If the soil contains too many or too few nutrients, soybean plants will not grow well. Therefore, you should add fertilizer if the area has not been fertilized for the past few years.
If the soil has not been fertilized recently, add mature manure or compost to the soil and add nutrients to the nursery before planting
Step 5. Embed nutrients in soybean seeds
One of the nutrients that soybean plants need in large amounts is nitrogen. The best way to ensure that your plants are getting the nutrients they need is to infuse Bradyrhizobium japonicum in soybean seeds. These are soil bacteria that have been enriched with nitrogen.
- To infuse them on seeds, place the soybeans in a bucket and then sprinkle the bacteria on them. Use a small shovel to mix the seeds to coat them with the soil bacteria.
- Keep soybean seeds out of direct sunlight and plant them within 24 hours of being treated with bacteria.
- Bradyrhizobium japonicum can be obtained through catalogs, online stores, or at agricultural and gardening supply stores.
Step 6. Plant the seeds
Plant soybean seeds into the soil to a depth of 4 cm and a distance between seeds of about 7.5 cm. Plant in rows with a distance between rows of about 75 cm.
Water the soil that has been planted with soybean seeds until it is moist. Do not over-water the seeds that have been planted, as this can cause them to burst
Part 2 of 3: Cultivating Plants
Step 1. Keep the plants out of the way of the rabbits
Rabbits love soybean sprouts, and can damage crops if you don't protect the growing plants. Put a fence around the garden to protect the plants from rabbits.
- You can make a simple fence by sticking a few wooden or bamboo posts around the garden, then attaching ram wire to the posts.
- You can also buy a ready-made garden fence.
- Another way is to plant metal rings all over the soybean growing area and then cover them with horticultural cotton sheets.
Step 2. Prune soybean plants
Once the soybeans have sprouted a few inches, you'll need to remove the weaker plants so that the stronger ones can thrive. To do this, cut the weak plants to the soil surface, but don't disturb the roots. The remaining plants should grow 10-15 apart from each other.
Step 3. Weed the area regularly
Soybeans cannot coexist with weeds, and can quickly become deprived of food if there are many weeds growing in the same garden. Weed the weeds in the planting area frequently and use a shovel or hand to remove them.
Once the plants start to grow and get bigger, you don't need to weed them too often because the soybeans will win when they compete for food with weeds
Step 4. Water your plants
Soybeans usually only need additional watering during 3 stages: when they are first planted and before the buds come out of the ground, when they are forming the seed coat, and when the plant is flowering.
During this period, make sure you water the plant frequently enough to keep the soil moist
Part 3 of 3: Harvesting Soybeans
Step 1. Harvest your soybeans
Soybeans begin to ripen in September and are ready to be harvested when the seed petals are green and the seeds are densely round and mature. Make sure you harvest the soybeans before the petals turn yellow. To harvest, just take all the petals on the plant.
Soybeans that are ready to be harvested have seed petals with a length of about 5 to 8 cm
Step 2. Boil and do shocking (cooling with ice water) on your soybeans
Put water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Take another large saucepan, then fill half the pot with water and the other half with ice. When the water boils, put all the soybeans in it and boil for 5 minutes. Then remove the soybeans from the hot water using a spoon and place them in a pot of iced water for 5 minutes.
- Once cooled, remove the soybeans from the cold water and place them on a clean cloth.
- Boiling and cooling soybeans is important because your body cannot digest raw soybeans properly.
- Boiling the soybeans also makes it easier for you to remove the seeds from the calyx.
Step 3. Remove the soybean seeds from the petals
Take the soybean petals and squeeze the two ends gently. When pressed, the folds of the petals will open and the seeds will come out. Place the soybean seeds in a bowl and repeat until all the seeds are removed.
- Be careful when squeezing the soybean petals as the seeds can pop out.
- Process the seed coat into compost. Soybean husks are rich in nutrients so you can reuse them by turning them into compost and mixing them with soil.
Step 4. Use and store your soybeans
Once the soybeans have cooled, you can eat them right away, use them in your favorite recipes, or save them for later use. Soybeans can be stored in the refrigerator for about a week. If you want to keep it for up to a year, you can process it by:
- Freeze
- Can
- Dry
