Forum home› The potting shed
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

germinating runner beans

hyweljudiwilliamshyweljudiwilliams Posts: 1
in The potting shed
I was more than interested in an element of the programme on 8th May because I have had a disaster with germinating runner beans: 4/45 have given me healthy plants the rest are mush.  I followed the usual procedure with 5cm depth in (too wet?) compost into an unheated greenhouse.  On the programme Monty pushed in the bean to just below surface level into unwatered compost and left it at that; is this possible?

Posts

  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    Damp but not wet compost seems to work best.  One year I had the problem you describe - the beans rotted.  My porch had got very hot, as well as the compost being soggy.
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    Runner beans in cold wet compost will just rot. What were you going to do with 45 plants? That many would give you a huge crop that would feed the average street never mind one household.
  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    I've had serial failures before too. This year I forgot to buy some before lockdown happened so fished some saved seed out of a jar which has been in the kitchen for a couple of years at least. They all germinated!
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    So far, about 3/4s of mine have germinated, I have been very careful this year not to overwater them. I sowed last year's beans in small pots and put them in spare bedroom to germinate on 4th May. 
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    I don't like to , but.....
    Sown on 6th May in this because I ran out of pots, first one up on the 10th and now all up today

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I usually sow mine on the 1st May  but this year sowed on the 6th,  most are up.
    i think people sow them too early, you really need tip top conditions to take that risk, and people are just so eager to get them in. 
    You won’t get any more out of them by sowing too early. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    I'm doing belts and braces,  as last year outside beans failed to germinate, so the ones outside have yet to germinate ( it's a bit cold for them, but do have them under cover) and next week with the warmer temps the inside ones will go out.
  • Jolly Gary the GardenerJolly Gary the Gardener Posts: 133
    I live in Crawley and before it was a new town people used to plant out the beans on 6th May used to be a market day or something according to folklore.
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    I planted 3 types of bean and I've got one shoot up so far. I just checked the others and all the white ones have turned to mush. The greenhouse has been getting down to 2 degrees over night so I guess I should have brought them indoors. I've got a few more seeds though so hopefully the rest will catch up.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Sign In or Register to comment.