A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum Vegetable Gardening Not Germinating - Bush Bean Heavyweight II

I sowed the Bush Beans two weeks ago in a 1 inch deep 2 inch wide trench in the garden. Covered with soil and gently pressed down. Soil is a mix of peatmoss, manure, and dirt. It has been 60-75degrees over the past two weeks and has rained a bunch on and off.

Nothing came up after two weeks so I decided to dig a few up. What I found was white balls of 'paste'. Like the bean seeds turned to a sticky wet ball of paste. Why would this happen? Are the seeds no good? Do I have to start over?

Sounds to me like your seeds rotted in cool, wet ground. You don't say where you're from. Bean seeds germinate when soil (not air) temps are between 75-80 degrees. Doubtful that if your air temps haven't been quite that warm, the ground would have had time to warm up enough. A lot of rain would exacerbate this problem.

Bean seeds have a fairly high rate of germination under good conditions, so it's probably not the seed.

If we knew where you were from, what zone, that would help.

Marica

http://www.burpee.com/contentarticle.do?itemID=46

zone 6. South Ohio

If this is the case. When should I sow the next batch?

I sow beans when I plant my annuals in the ground. Usually around the third week of May. Peas are a bit hardier and cold resistant. As an added 'precaution' to having beans rot in cool ground, the ground should not be cold to the touch. It should be warm, or at least warm enough that you wouldn't mind 'squishing' the soil with your hands.

I usually soak beans for one day in a small cup, drain the water, and cover the top with a piece of wet paper towel. Leave it somewhere where you won't forget about it. Rinse the beans once a day and cover container with a moistened paper towel after each rinse. In 3-4 days, you'll see a small root coming out of the bean. You should get a better survival rate planting these pre-germinated beans. The roots can immediately start absorbing some water in the ground. Plant the beans as deep as the packet says, water, and place the top half of a water bottle over the ground where the seed is. You shouldn't need to water until a sprout pokes out of the ground, unless the ground is REALLY dry.

I'm in NC and bush beans usually do well. I wonder if it was all the rain or possibly a problem with the seeds themselves.

I don't plant mine until May though. Never have.

I'm also in zone 6 (Cincinnati). I didn't get my first crop of beans in until 5/25 last year (new bed preparation delayed me). This year, weather depending, I'll probably plant the first crop about 5/10- 5/15 or so.