Green bean woes

[desertcat]

Does anybody have any ideas why I can grow most things, but can't get my beans to sprout for love nor money. I've been trying for a couple of years now...but we won't count last year, since absolutely nothing grew well last year. First go round, I may (probably) have had seeds that were old enough to vote and I didn't use an inoculant. This year, I got fresh seed from 2 different sources, used an inoculant and after planting 50+ seeds I have 2 (!!) plants in a month. I've planted all over the garden in case they just didn't like the neighborhood. The 2 are in different areas, so that was no help. One is in a raised bed and the other is in the ground.

If kindergarten kids can grow these darn things, what's my problem?????

 

[lesa]

Isn't that strange? If it were me, I would dig down and see if the seed is still there. Maybe you have some critter that is actually eating the bean? You don't need to plant them very deep. In fact I have seen my seeds sprout, just laying on top of the ground.

 

[desertcat]

Checked that this morning, again with inconsistent results. What kind of critters are you thinking of? I've got a few big toads, no rabbits or gophers, real doubtful about voles (they're not common in this area and we are just 1 yr post disappearance of the world's largest longterm feral cat colony), do have lots of birds of various kinds but I don't see signs of soil disturbance.

I love a good mystery, but I love green beans too!

 

[April Manier]

Weird. If the soil is too cold it can kill them. If it is too soggy it can kill them. My vote is for starting them in the house in a wet paper towel. This is the way I have grade-schoolers start beans and it works great. I wet thoroughly, keep wet for a few days, allow to dry out a bit, then re-wet. The little bit of dry out stress seems to get them to crack faster (I do this because it would get my science experiments going faster, and kids are impatient!).

I say start them indoors then transplant.

Birds will eat them. Slugs will kill them. But this is definitely a mystery!!!! Keep us posted.

 

[897tgigvib]

I happen to know beans about beans, lol!

Beans sprout best in warm soil. They sprout best when the soil is very loose and friable. Beans sprout poorly if the soil crusts kind of hard.

Some kinds of Beans sprout better than other kinds.

A variety called DOW PURPLE POD wins the award as the best to sprout under the most conditions. It also wins the award as the fastest growing tall vining bean, and is among the prettiest, including the flowers. It is a regular Phaseolus vulgaris. The pods are used as green beans. They are purple, and turn green when cooked, and have good flavor, very meaty, and very productive.

They are available, or at least used to be, from SEEDS OF CHANGE, which is somewhere in your part of the country. They are among the quicker pole varieties, and should not be too late to plant down there. Down there in the desert they will probably do better with afternoon shade and afternoon spray watered to cool them some.


You can try sprouting them using sandwich baggies and paper towels.

Ever do that? It takes a careful hand. Do about 10 bean seeds per baggie.

http://amishlandseeds.com/garden_tips.htm

This site shows how she does it for Tomatoes. I have done this for Beans. Just don't let them dry out, and as soon as they look open go and plant them, and keep them moist for several days. Water carefully.

Another thing I almost always do when I plant Beans, (I plant them in the ground. The baggie method is just for when needed, such as your circumstance.), I plant them with the "eye" facing down.

I wonder if your desert sun is actually overheating your bean seeds in the ground. Cooking them to death. If that is the case, set some afternoon shade for the seedbed, and water them lightly throughout the day off and on.

In general, when sprouting seeds in the garden, the soil should almost always appear dark from moisture on the surface.

 

[desertcat]

Off to try the paper towel method!

I try to keep things damp when I direct sow. Native soil is kinda clayey and can get a pretty good crust on it...hence the raised beds. Have a variety of soils in them trying to find what works best. The garden gets some shade in alomst all parts and the neighbors think I'm nuts when I start putting up shade tents for stuff, but hey, it works. I've made my peas, cukes, onions, squash, eggplants, broccoli and tomatoes happy, but those darn beans...!

 

[897tgigvib]

Oh, speaking of old bean seeds.

Back in the 1960's I grew a few beans. I kept my saved seeds in old socks in my socks drawer. There was a variety that I grew in 1968 called royalty purple pod bush, and i saved a seed from one that made a thin runner to 5 feet in a sock. I forgot all about that one.

Life had moved on inexoriably, and in 1988, my parents had moved to Montana. When I moved to Montana, there at my parent's house was a bag of some of my very old clothes, my old old wallet, blue jeans, and socks etc.! One sock had a Bean seed in it! Another had a Pumpkin seed in it!

They both grew!!! 20 year old seeds, one of each. The Royalty Purple pod bush that makes a fine runner is now one of my varieties.


Another thing you could try, in case there is just something about your conditions that make regular beans not grow right, is try a different species.

Some Cowpea varieties are good green bean eating. Asparagus yard long, I've never grown, is supposedly good eating.

 

[retiredwith4acres]

Birds love beans and crows and some birds will eat the just sprouted beans!

 

[897tgigvib]

Do you have those little Mountain Chickadees? They are the worst for eating seedlings and tender tips. Oregon Juncos and Towhees too. It's those little birdies. They are far worse than Ravens.

Thing is, they leave telltale signs. They snip off the top and leave the root. Then again, you're down in the desert with different birds. Roadrunners and Wiley Coyotes...

 

[CountryGirl]

I agree with retiredwith4acres and marshallsmyth. I have the same problem I planted two long rows of beans and only have about 8 sprouts. While weeding the garden last night a bird happen to land in the garden right by the bean rows. It walked around looking for sprouts. The ones that had survived were too big for it so it didn't bother with them. I plan on replanting the rows and put netting over the rows until the plants are established.

Just a side comment - I did dig down in several places in the row and there were no seeds.