Does it have a short self life? I've got terrible germination this year and wonder if it's because it's old seed?
without more info there is no way to know.
Mine has been poor this year too - runners sown at the same time are all up, only half the French and they are looking feeble. I used saved seed from last year - today I shall sow what's left from the original packet and see if they come at all. I seem to think they are generally less robust that runners?
The only French bean seed I've had problems with has been 'purchased' rather than swapped or own saved.
I do want some of these so I'm going to chit in moist compost in a sandwich bag first....
White seeded varieties are in my experience more prone to rotting. I always chit mine in kitchen roll and remove any that go mouldy asap. I tend to go for darker seeded varieties.
I reckon they will go a couple of years. I also find my own saved seed seems to pop up very quickly.
Still plenty of time to try again.
I have some Kwintus white bean seed from about 10 years ago [from HSL old stock] and the lot came up - wasn't expecting that! But on the whole I do agree white bean seeds are much harder to get going...
Everything of mine's come up apart from Lazy Wife, which is too d**n idle to show itself.
Opera , and Hunter saved from last year, 40 sowed 39 growing well.
Cosse violette growing away well, saved haricots, climbing french and borlotti coming up a bit slower, the haricot have a bit of mouldy stuff on but the leaves are growing away well ;D
I wonder if I've over-watered them? I think they were white seeds so maybe I'll start again.
I thought it was me! Also having big trouble getting fb to germinate. White and black seeded varieties. Usually really easy. ::)
all of my seeding this year are alittle leggy with all
this extra sun light dont no why.just plant a little
deeper my seem ok.
Bit too early for me I will not be sowing srench beans for another 3 weeks; Seed usually last for 2 -3 yrs if kept in a cool dry place.
we have sewn several types this year,(courtesy of some of you on swap site,thankyou) and some saved from last yr,(thankyou robert and david),
some at home some at the local primary school,all seem to be doing well :)
however it seems the one that are being tortured by five year olds are doing better than the ones i have at home ???
maybe i'll do a proper trial a bit later on in the year?
Had to re sow some of ours yesterday. I am wondering if it is overwatering cos one of the trays was fine. I find white seed difficult so I always save more than I need. Have still got lots of coco sophie since a kind person on here sent me some.
I've found self-saved seed way better than one-year old commercial for germination.... and I'm pretty consistent with technique these days.....
chrisc
Quote from: aj on May 07, 2011, 09:33:25
I have some Kwintus white bean seed from about 10 years ago [from HSL old stock] and the lot came up - wasn't expecting that! But on the whole I do agree white bean seeds are much harder to get going...
10 years? That is going some! Were they stored particularly well, ie with silica gel? If you haven't grown Kwintus before, you are in for a treat.
I have got low germination of 9 year old french bean seeds (home saved), 7-8 years usually gives around 20-30 percent germination, 6 years and younger usually 50percent to 100 percent germination. Older seeds get very dry and they need longer to soften that seed coat sufficiently to germinate. Older seed can take 3 weeks to sprout, new seeds 3-4 days. The temptation is to overwater in order to 'make germination happen', which usually kills white seeded varieties. French bean seeds germinate better if they are on the surface of the compost with a very light sprinkling of compost on top. I usually have some of the bean showing. Deeply buried beans rot much more easily.
The legal requirement is that commercial beans germinate well when they were tested prior to being packaged. What happens afterwards we don't know. But sometimes we can help ourselves and n o t buy a packet. A local garden centre which is bolted on to a DIY place displays its seeds on a rack outside in full sunlight. Not good. Other seed racks are right next to heaters. Is the seed in front of the seed rack an older batch than the seed at the rear? It is worth checking and going for the newer packet because that has not been sitting in the shop for over a year and has been protected from the elements to a degree, because it was covered by the other packets. It is a bit tedious and I am sure shops hate customers like me who take ten packets off their rack to get at the ones with newer dates. It is only fair to put them back properly - but it is equally fair to me to end up with a better quality packet. After all they cost the same!
Other bad influences are beyond my control. Mail order seed or swapped seed could have been sitting in a post van that stood in bright sunlight for a time and got very hot and humid inside. Seed from abroad could have been x-rayed at customs. Etc. Home saved seed generally fares better, unless the seed saved was from the dregs, the pods right at the end of the season, as an afterthought.
With French beans I learned that I need to be patient - give it a month - and not overwater. And that older seed is much better sown in modules and transplanted rather than sown directly into the garden.
I never sow tender veg direct; the soil is often that bit colder than a pot. Self-saved seed tends to be good quality; I had some old HSL pea seed (presumably saved by people like us) last year, with a warning that it might not come up. I don't know how old it was, but it came up like a rocket.
I sometimes wonder if it is sowing depth? Mine came up pretty well from bought seed, but some were closer to the surface and I notice they are only germinating now, as opposed to the others that are already a few centimetres tall. I put a little more soil on them.
Quote from: Digeroo on May 07, 2011, 09:03:05
White seeded varieties are in my experience more prone to rotting. I always chit mine in kitchen roll and remove any that go mouldy asap. I tend to go for darker seeded varieties.
I reckon they will go a couple of years. I also find my own saved seed seems to pop up very quickly.
Still plenty of time to try again.
First time sowing for me and I am using an unopened pack (white seeded variety)given away free by the bbc last year. Only about 4 in 14 are up and the rest have rotted
I always try to save the first dried beasn I can get for seeds, if nothing else it's acting as a selection pressure to be earlier..... somethign some of the varieties need, I'm looking at you borlotti......
Quote from: chriscross1966 on May 09, 2011, 12:34:35
I always try to save the first dried beasn I can get for seeds, if nothing else it's acting as a selection pressure to be earlier..... somethign some of the varieties need, I'm looking at you borlotti......
I used to do this. Then I read that one of the signs of virus on beans is shorter plants At the time of saving the earliest, there is no way of telling how big/strong a plant will be. Ideally we would put plants aside for seed, then choose the best of those for seeds and harvest all the seeds from the chosen plants. As a compromise, a few early pods and a few mid season pods from chosen plants is probably a reasonable way to go, allow for seedsaving and eating.