How to avoid Broad Beans rotting in cold

[Marb67]

Sod's law I sowed my broad beans in the cold greenhouse over the weekend when nice and warm, giving the modules a soak in warm water to get them started. Now it has gone very cold and I fear they will rot over the next few days as the compost is still very damp. It isn't really practical to bring them indoors as I don't really have the central heating on. Will they now just rot seeing as the next few days are going to stay cold ? Thanks.

[ameno]

Broad beans are very hardy. They will not rot due to cold. If the beans rot at all, it will be because of problems with the beans themselves, and would have happened regardless of conditions.

[Marb67]

Broad beans are very hardy. They will not rot due to cold. If the beans rot at all, it will be because of problems with the beans themselves, and would have happened regardless of conditions.

Ok, thanks. I ask as usually peas rot in the greenhouse and the last lot of broad beans sowed in pots in Autumn outside all rotted.

[nick the grief]

Ok, thanks. I ask as usually peas rot in the greenhouse and the last lot of broad beans sowed in pots in Autumn outside all rotted.

What variety was it ? some aren't meant to be sown till spring (depending where you live) others will overwinter but in my garden I've found that spring sown are usually better plants you just have to be aware of black fly

[Marb67]

What variety was it ? some aren't meant to be sown till spring (depending where you live) others will overwinter but in my garden I've found that spring sown are usually better plants you just have to be aware of black fly

I think they were the Sutton (the ones I had left over) and Aquadulce.

[nick the grief]

I think they were the Sutton (the ones I had left over) and Aquadulce.

hmm can't offer any thoughts on that then. Still OK to re-sow though.

[Andraste]

I had some french beans (dwarf & climbing) & broadies that rotted on me last year - spring sown in modules in a blowaway greenhouse (broadies earlier than french obviously - broadies being an earlier sowing & not needing as much warmth & all that).

It could well have been the seed - a few people said they thought that was to blame - but I'm not 100% convinced.

Usually I start everything on a windowsill - unheated in the kitchen where it's fairly cool at this time of year, just in modules with a plastic bag on their heads. I don't take the bag off until they sprout. They don't need water until at least a week after I take the bag off as the evaporate-y bits on the bag drip back to the module & the compost stays at a fairly consistent moistness.

My mistake was getting excited about the new blowaway & putting the modules straight in there without bag-hats, then worrying the compost was drying out & that was why they weren't sprouting, so giving them water just in case. It seemed like a tiny bit of water that wouldn't harm & could only do good (excess would drip out of the little holes surely)...............

In retrospect, I think I was overwatering - seeds can't drink up water like plant roots, so I was keeping them too 'wet' instead of 'moist'. I drowned to poor little beggars

This year I'll be back to the windowsill with bag-hats, then moving to them hatless to the blowaway when they start popping up.

Edited to add:

I wouldn't worry about the warm water beforehand (temp will drop to the environment fairly quickly anyway I'd have thought). I also never pre-soaked my beans until last year so I won't be doing that again either. I do throw them in a glass & plant the sinkers rather than the floaters - but I have no real science for doing that, it just feels right to me.

Re being cold in the house - I do hope your house isn't colder than the greenhouse (although I appreciate heating costs are huge & you can't persuade plants to wear extra jumpers etc.). I reckon they'd be quite happy if you brought them inside if that's what you wanted to do. Like I said, I usually start mine indoors. I would move them to your greenhouse when they stick their heads up as if they get growing inside you'll have to fiddle around hardening them off (I'm such a lazy grower I hate doing that if I don't really have to).

[Marb67]

Well, even now my heretege broad beans are rotting in the compost, some germinated but no further growth. Why is it so hard? Too late to sow more now

[Peanut]

It's not too late to sow some more Marb, I sowed some more a couple of days ago. Good luck

[Marb67]

It's not too late to sow some more Marb, I sowed some more a couple of days ago. Good luck

Thanks Peanut. They were dry under the surface of the choi compost, even after watering so perhaps why the stunted growth ?

[Andraste]

I agree with Peanut, I don't think it's too late to sow more. They might crop a little later than you'd like but otherwise should be fine.

It would be good to work out why they've rotted again though - it's highly unlikely to be temperature now so I'm inclined to say it's either dodgy beans or they've been too wet.

I'm convinced my issues in the past are at least related in a small way to pre-soaking the beans in water before sowing. I don't have half so much trouble when sowing unsoaked. So if you did soak then I'd avoid doing that for your new sowing.

I'll bang on the drum for chitting/pre-sprouting again, at least a few beans to check viability. Personally I'd chit them all as then you won't be wasting time/compost on beans that aren't going/haven't to germinated - I'm finding this year that the last seed to sprout are the weaker plants - plus they might sprout a little quicker in a closed container with damp kitchen roll indoors to give you a small head-start on getting them going.

Having transferred to sprouted beans to compost, I'd water to 'moist' rather than wet, stick a plastic bag on their heads & pop them into the greenhouse. As soon as their heads are up, I take off the bags. At that point I start monitoring the soil for watering again as needed but I've found with some composts these days they can look dry on the top but be wet underneath & vice versa so it's worth at least sticking your finger in to check before wielding the watering can.

[Peanut]

I'm no expert on why things don't gow as we want them to I'm afraid. It's one of the great gardening mysteries sent to annoy us. I keep my broad beans, right from sowing, outside on the coal bunker under a wire cloche. I lift the tray periodically to see how heavy it is and that tells me if they need watering or not.

If you haven't already, I would have a furtle through the compost and take out any that look likely to rot, then water the rest and leave them to hopefully grow on, in their own sweet time.
With my first lot of beans, the sutton, I had some germinate after about 10 days, then the rest just randomly popped up over the period of about a month.
I always start them in modules, like yours, then as soon as they have a few leaves and their roots are poking through the bottom I plant them out.

I have my fingers crossed you get some more germinating

[Andraste]

Maybe have a rethink about the coir Marb?

I shop around for the cheapest multipurpose I can find & use that for everything from sowing to potting on (& in my permanent pot plantings at home). I know some swear by specific seed-sowing compost, perlite, vermi-whatsit etc. but the simple (cheap) method suits me.

[Marb67]

The choir came in blocks from Home and Bargain that you add water to hydrate. The consistency was perfect when I sowed them. The beans are a heritage variety with red flowers so they weren't cheap

[Andraste]

Only time I've ever used coir was as part of the start-up of a small wormery/compost system years ago. It seemed to hold quite a bit of water but you mentioned it being dry under the surface so.....

Online blurb does promote coir as good for sowing seeds into (although its low nutritional content suggests to me that it would be no use after germination when the seedlings start looking for food) but then I expect the sellers to rave about their products.

Maybe start a new thread to ask if anyone has experience of sowing in coir they can share?

Edit to add: beans drying out after they've been sown can cause the rot so you may have discovered the cause