Runner beans

[sternyboy]

Does anyone soak beans overnight before potting them or have I just imagined this?
If you do does it make a difference to how fast they germinate?

[Alison]

I just shove mine in a bit of damp compost (usually in root trainers but any pot will do) and they come through a few days later. Never even occurred to me to soak or anything else, would think that there was more of a risk of rotting that way.

[sternyboy]

Ok ta. I think I may have got my wires crossed and am thinking about soaking beans/pulses before cooking them!! :roll: lol

[alex-adam]

I 'chit' all my beans - runners, French etc., - Place seed on damp kitchen paper in a plastic box (ice-cream container or similar) - After a few days, when the embionic root appears I pot up. - This way I know I'll only be potting growing seed.

a-a

[chris]

I did for this year, just to get a couple days head start really - I soaked in hot water for a couple of hours, until they went wrinkly, then started to expand - then potted up.

[rustylady]

I soak mine, then place on damp kitchen paper in a sealed plastic box. Same reason as AA - don't want to waste compost planting duds.

[kathyd]

I soaked all my runners and dozens of french beans waiting for them to start sprouting, potted them up when the first couple of roots appeared, and almost all of them have rotted in their pots . Presumably I've done something horribly wrong (although almost all the peas did OK after the same treatment), so next time I'm going to just plant them and see what happens. IF we ever get any warmer weather I shall plant direct into the beds outside like I did last year, when they all grew quite well. In the meantime I may try a few more just into damp compost. *sigh*

[Two_Sheds]

does it make a difference to how fast they germinate?

It's the temp they grow at that affects germination time. So if you're chitting them indoors, the temp's likely to be 18c or higher.
If you pot the seed up in an unheated gh, the temp will be anything from 5c (at night right now) to 20c

almost all of them have rotted in their pots

White seeds tend to rot before they chit, so I don't soak white seed.
Also, if the pot is put somewhere cold (and too wet) they are going to rot: I lost quite a few in the unheated gh, when the weather decided to revert to January again last month

[sternyboy]

.
If you pot the seed up in an unheated gh, the temp will be anything from 5c (at night right now) to 20c

Should I light my heater up then? I'd assumed it was just to keep it warmer in the real cold winter months. I've got a paraffin 1 I could use

[Two_Sheds]

Beans need a warm environment, they're from S.America.

You don't necessarily need to heat your gh (esp. not in Kent), you could just delay sowing until it's warm enough.
They grow real fast once it's warm enough, so you lose nothing by waiting.