To soak or not to soak ??

[desertlady]

I was reading some old seed catalogs, some says to soak beans, and other says beans dont like to be soaked ! I have soaked my beans over night, It has sprouted. How to you grow your beans?

 

[catjac1975]

They grow a little faster when soaked. They plant a little faster if dry. I planted them dry this year and gave them a watering.

 

[MontyJ]

I never soak. I just dry plant them and keep them watered.

 

[desertlady]

so its 50/50. I have some beans they were soaked over night, and have some dry beans that was planted directly in ground. Ill see what comes first!

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

I soak my peas but not my beans. They come up quick enough for me dry.

 

[897tgigvib]

I don't soak bean seeds.

But if I have old or otherwise questionable seeds I will start some of them in a plastic bag in a damp paper towel. Even then, they'll only be in it long enough for that first root to show. I did that with 10 of the Dapple Grey seeds. Turned out though that the bed planted ones were just leisurely sprouting. Doing that with beans should not be needed, but for old or very slow sprouting, or important to sprout seeds it can be done with care and at the proper temperature. I left the baggie open but folded over once, the paper towel was just between wet and damp, and the seeds were separated well enough that I could pull the paper towel apart carefully. I have only ever used this GERMINATION TEST method twice for Beans.

Tomato seeds I've used this method 3 times, but that first time in 2004 it was with 35 varieties. Again, they'd really only need this method for old or critical seed.

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Soaking seed is mostly for certain species that need it.

 

[mrcman]

We used to presoak the beans before planting but some years ago we stopped that. Now we just plant them in a row and water real good.

This year our seeds didn't sprout well and ended up reseeding. I guess ya never know what's going to happen.

Tony

 

[desertlady]

My green beans soaked over night sprouted 6 days. dry beans planted directly in ground sprout 9 days.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Interesting on the difference you observed. Sounds like those were different beans though, so maybe not a valid comparison.

I generally dont soak anything, even okra which is supposed to really benefit from soaking. I find okra either sprouts pretty quickly without soaking or it doesnt sprout at all.

Last year I planted my Boston Pickling cucumbers when it was really dry. A couple of days later I watered one of those hills, thinking to get those seeds sprouting early so Id have a few early ones for the table. That hill I watered was the last one to sprout, behind by about two days. Im not even going to try to explain that one.