Can’t germinate climbing beans

[Deltawhiskey]

Any advice on getting climbing beans to germinate. 8 only from a full pack of this years seeds. Most just seem to end up as mush.

Delta

[ameno]

It's easiest to sprout them first on damp tissue kept somewhere warm. But they should germinate fairly easily in any warm, damp growing medium.
If you're having this much trouble, I suspect the beans themselves are at fault. I've had problems several times in recent years with packets of bean seeds which start rotting almost straight away, and only very few germinate. I suspect the seeds are bacterially contaminated.
So, get some fresh seeds (take the packet you have back and claim, if you can).

[Mark_Riga]

If the 8 are doing OK now, I would try to leave a few pods to ripen and save your own seed in future, say 10 pods, 6 seeds per pod. They would need to more or less dry out on the plant before picking september/october time, beware frosts. I have more or less 100% germination with saved bean and pea seeds.

[Jungle Jane]

How often do you water them,I water once,put them on the windowsill after a week or so I water once more then that’s all. Two out of eighteen didn’t germinate this year so I gave those another watering,then they germinated. I think yours might’ve had too much water to end up as a mush. The ones I had that hadn’t germinated were still solid not mush,when I had a look,they took at least a week longer than the others to germinate. Feel the weight of the pot to see how dry it is,the top of the compost looks dry but the weight shows they don’t need watering again.

[Chestnut]

Do any of the pots have grey hairs in? Our local squirrels love bean seeds....
I found I got much better germination rates when I covered the pots with a miniature cage of wire mesh (like chicken wire, but smaller holes so the squirrels couldn’t get in)

[littlemoney]

It's easiest to sprout them first on damp tissue kept somewhere warm. But they should germinate fairly easily in any warm, damp growing medium.
If you're having this much trouble, I suspect the beans themselves are at fault. I've had problems several times in recent years with packets of bean seeds which start rotting almost straight away, and only very few germinate. I suspect the seeds are bacterially contaminated.
So, get some fresh seeds (take the packet you have back and claim, if you can).

I used the damp kitchen towel method to pre germinate before sowing as advised on here. I also soaked the seeds in water for 2 hours before putting on damp tissue.

[peanut]

I find climbing beans the most temperamental of all the legumes. Sometimes I'll soak overnight, discarding any that float, then chit on damp paper. Root normally appears in 24-48hrs. Even then when I pot them up the rate at which they appear varies hugely I have four that are a couple of inches high where as the others are still yet to show themselves.

[greenishfing]

Weirdly climbing beans are the one vegetable that seems to germinate no problem for me. I normally put 2 beans per 3 inch pot in the greenhouse thinking that 1 will germinate (maybe). I always stand them on end. Usually the majority germinate and then I get rid of the weakest in each pot.

[Penellype]

I find beans (including the climbing variety) extremely temperamental to germinate. I've tried the soak then damp kitchen paper method and find most of them rot. I tend to put 2 seeds to a 3.5 inch pot, water and put in an unheated propagator on capillary matting until they germinate. I sow the seeds long side vertical, with the root bulge (if visible) pointing down.Sometimes they are fine, sometimes they rot, sometimes they come up upside down (ie roots appear above the compost). Sometimes the cotyledons are strangely shrivelled and the plants take much longer to get going. I therefore tend to sow more than I need and I am prepared to resow if necessary.

[ameno]

I find beans (including the climbing variety) extremely temperamental to germinate. I've tried the soak then damp kitchen paper method and find most of them rot. I tend to put 2 seeds to a 3.5 inch pot, water and put in an unheated propagator on capillary matting until they germinate. I sow the seeds long side vertical, with the root bulge (if visible) pointing down.Sometimes they are fine, sometimes they rot, sometimes they come up upside down (ie roots appear above the compost). Sometimes the cotyledons are strangely shrivelled and the plants take much longer to get going. I therefore tend to sow more than I need and I am prepared to resow if necessary.

It's the seeds.
Good seeds will have a near 100% germination rate in warm conditions. Beans should not be finicky germinators. If any significant proportion fail to germinate in those conditions then there is something wrong with the seeds, either they are too old, or the seeds have been contaminated somehow.

[Penellype]

It's the seeds.
Good seeds will have a near 100% germination rate in warm conditions. Beans should not be finicky germinators. If any significant proportion fail to germinate in those conditions then there is something wrong with the seeds, either they are too old, or the seeds have been contaminated somehow.

Some of the seeds are possibly old, but I have definitely had issues with beans within the sow by date on the packet. Maybe they don't like the conditions in I keep the seeds in - the coolest room in my house (cloakroom).

[ameno]

Some of the seeds are possibly old, but I have definitely had issues with beans within the sow by date on the packet. Maybe they don't like the conditions in I keep the seeds in - the coolest room in my house (cloakroom).

So have I. I've had issues with whole packets of brand new seeds. But when one packet germinates well and the other just putrefies, even though they were sown at the same time in the exact same conditions, it can only be the seeds.