Soybeans

[Shelby]

This may seem like a silly question, but can I pick the beans and use them? Are they the same as edamame? If so, when should I pick them? What should I do with them? Ours that are harvested are made into oil and food for chickens and cattle.

[Icanmakeit]

Yes, they are. Since yours are fresh you can pop them in salted boiling water for about 8 minutes strain and plunge into ice water. You can pop the beans out of the pods and eat them straight or add to stir frys, salads, etc

Lucky you, I haven't seen them at our farmers markets and have to pay $$ for them at the store.

[Magictofu]

I grew some in my tiny garden last year. The window for picking them to eat as edamame is quite short (10 days?). As soon as they are plump enough but that the shell is still bright green, they are ready to pick. After that, they will get harder and more fibrous and the shell will change color.

I don't know if some varieties are better than others for edamame. You can probably try and see if the variety you grow is tasty as edamame... the worst that can happen is that they won't be good eating.

You might want to make sure you are picking them a minimal amount of days after spraying them unless you grow organic beans of course.