Runner beans are a tender vegetable and as Erics Mum says, need consistent warmth to germinate. A plastic greenhouse is going to be warm enough yet, ideally they need to be in the house near a radiator or sunny window. Don't plant them out till early June and harden them off first.
Thanks Lizzie27.
I realise they are tender, and wont be planting them in the ground until at least early June.
A plastic greenhouse can be fine for Germination as long as the temperatures are warm enough. I was probably a week or 2 early sowing to be fair.
I agree that indoors on a windowsill or near a radiator would be better and more consistent warmth, but as I don't have the space or the forgiving wife needed for 30x 9cm runner bean pots, in my house the plastic greenhouse is my only option, and as long as the daytime temps don't drop drastically they will be fine. As I said the 1 variety is already up and about 2 inches in height, the other 2 are just starting to show signs of germination if I scratch the surface of the soil to check them, so all is well.
That's good @Glenjjones. Luckily for me, I do have a forgiving husband as I've been potting up on the dining room table and now have trays of pots in both spare bedrooms, dining room and kitchen!
That's good @Glenjjones. Luckily for me, I do have a forgiving husband as I've been potting up on the dining room table and now have trays of pots in both spare bedrooms, dining room and kitchen!
Very forgiving indeed! LOL
I find however much space i have its never enough, so I end up with pots and trays everywhere, hence keeping everything out of the house. Better to be in the good books.
Last year I planted three varieties and the beans of one variety all rotted. The other two were fine so I'm not sure if it was bad seed or whether that variety was more prone to problems?
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Mine don't get radiators or window sills,they get frost free green house,and have never had any problems with germination. Just moving stuff from window sills, conservatory,to green houses and the great outdoors
Sow ours in a cold glasshouse without any problems, they are ready to plant out, maybe tomorrow, they are self saved seed, haven't bought runner bean seed for many many years, the ones i grow were given to me, they are the variety that are now sown as Enorma, first class variety.
Same here Firestorm for quite some years,going over more to dwarf and climbing French, Anabel and cobra. Obelisks are full of peas this year. Suddenly thought, who has radiators on now anyway
We don't start our beans and peas in compost any more, takes too long, and the germination rates are mixed.
We line jars with moist kitchen roll, and insert the beans between the kitchen roll and the glass of the jar. We put as many as 10-12 beans per jar, depending on the size of the bean. We sit them on a north facing windowsill. The germination rate is almost 100%, and it takes just a matter of days (maximum 1 week), for almost everything to germinate. We then transfer them to small pots, with compost.
We start ours in Feb/Mar, so given the greater warmth and light, you should have no problem with this method in May. We'll be starting our second batch of the year tomorrow.
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I realise they are tender, and wont be planting them in the ground until at least early June.
A plastic greenhouse can be fine for Germination as long as the temperatures are warm enough. I was probably a week or 2 early sowing to be fair.
I agree that indoors on a windowsill or near a radiator would be better and more consistent warmth, but as I don't have the space or the forgiving wife needed for 30x 9cm runner bean pots, in my house the plastic greenhouse is my only option, and as long as the daytime temps don't drop drastically they will be fine. As I said the 1 variety is already up and about 2 inches in height, the other 2 are just starting to show signs of germination if I scratch the surface of the soil to check them, so all is well.
I find however much space i have its never enough, so I end up with pots and trays everywhere, hence keeping everything out of the house. Better to be in the good books.
We line jars with moist kitchen roll, and insert the beans between the kitchen roll and the glass of the jar. We put as many as 10-12 beans per jar, depending on the size of the bean. We sit them on a north facing windowsill. The germination rate is almost 100%, and it takes just a matter of days (maximum 1 week), for almost everything to germinate. We then transfer them to small pots, with compost.
We start ours in Feb/Mar, so given the greater warmth and light, you should have no problem with this method in May. We'll be starting our second batch of the year tomorrow.