[mdjlucan]

I put the seeds straight in the grand but the frost came so I re-seeded about two weeks ago but I went to the allotment today it looks like I've lost them or something  at them if I reeced them again  is there anything I can put over them to protect them hope someone can  help thanks

[mumofstig]

Wait until it is warmer and then sow them again. You could put a bit of fleece round them if it is windy.

[candygold1]

mice had all my peas so could have been them.

[AnneB]

I wouldn't sow French Beans, dwarf or climbing, direct.  I find they do much better if sowed indoors in pots, then hardened off before planting out.

[jambop]

To be honest even down here where we get really nice spells of spring weather I always look at the forecast for the next two weeks before I sow my beans direct. They just do not like to be germinated in anything like cold conditions. We have two weeks of really nice warm weather coming now so today I am sowing a row of beans direct. I will expect them to be through inside that two week period because the soil is nice and warm and moist. They hate cold we soil you will never do well if the soil is like that. When I had my garden in the UK I never sewed beans direct until some time in June when the ground was warm and workable its not worth wasting the seed. Of course if you can protect the soil and get it warmed up and then sow them and keep the covered it may be worth the effort.

[DD.]

I wouldn't sow French Beans, dwarf or climbing, direct.  I find they do much better if sowed indoors in pots, then hardened off before planting out.

I'll second that. I never direct sow beans. They germinate better and stand a much better chance against pests.

[stompy]

I always sow my french and bolotti beans in cells then transplant outside.
Peas on the otherhand are always direct sown and always get good germination, pigeons have had them all this year so i'll have to sow again and cover (which i don't like doing)

[al78]

I wouldn't sow French Beans, dwarf or climbing, direct.  I find they do much better if sowed indoors in pots, then hardened off before planting out.

I'll second that. I never direct sow beans. They germinate better and stand a much better chance against pests.

I'll third it. If animals don't get the seeds, the slugs will get the seedlings. I always start indoors and plant out when a good size.

[jambop]

I wouldn't sow French Beans, dwarf or climbing, direct.  I find they do much better if sowed indoors in pots, then hardened off before planting out.

It very much depends on your soil conditions and where you live. I would never dream of starting any of my beans off in pots simply because the weather is good enough to germinate them when sown direct and they do not need hardened off the just continue to grow after germinating. If you live in a colder climate naturally this is not going to be an option unless you cover the soil and after sowing protect the seedlings with  plastic cloching of some sort  that is very effective and saves the effort of hardening and transplanting however there is a cost for the plastic tunnelling... but it is reusable so can be a good investment.

[Yorkie]

As others have said, it also depends on your local pests.

For a couple of years, the slugs have eaten all bar 2 of my dwarf bean plants in my front garden - and they were planted out from cells.  They'd have had absolutely no chance if sown direct!

[victoria park]

I'm surprised the NFG Liberation Front sow beans in pots.
 
For years I have sown runners and french in pots, and yes, the germination and attrition rates are good, maybe 95%. But it's a 100 pots a season with associated compost, room in the greenhouse and faff.

The last three years I have taken to direct sowing of all beans, and I've had better crops.
They have three early predators of note, mice, birds and slugs. Initial netting with enviromesh takes care of the first two, and slug pellets, along with keeping the bed a couple of metres from damp plant cover,  takes care of the emerging seedlings as sure as carrot seedlings....ie about 70% survive.
My reasoning for the change was my greenhouse is full to bursting in May and there are just so many plants and seedlings to deal with. What's more, in the past, no matter how well I thought I had hardened off bean seedlings, the wind and slugs would still take their victims. I find the seedlings that emerge from the soil far more able to withstand initial weather conditions without sulking. Below are this year's runners. I sowed about 100 seeds at ten a penny on 3 May in warmed soil. They germinated under enviromesh on 17 May and they are today 5 days old as shown. Yes, there have been a few losses to slugs as they emerged and I was a bit tardy with pellets, but I will just transplant from overcrowded areas of the rows into bald patches. Bean seeds are so cheap bought loose by weight. There are about 60 emerging unscathed individuals from 100 at the moment. Plenty for my needs..
They will remain under bird netting until they need bamboo canes. Fine gauge netting can also keep most slugs at bay from neighbouring ghettos.
If I remember I'll post a photo in a fortnight of this bed and it's ongoing progress.

[DD.]

I'm surprised the NFG Liberation Front sow beans in pots.
 

Did I mention pots? I don't think so! 

Good old cat litter tray and I can get 40 or so seed in one tray. (5x8 grid - more for dwarf French beans). Neither do I use compost. Oddly enough I find beans will geminate in..............................................soil! One good shovel full per tray - that's hardly faffing!

[jambop]

It as I say really depends on the circumstances in which the seeds are sown. If the soil is light and warm dwarf beans will get away without a hitch in less than ten days but if your soil is heavy and cold you are wasting you time and seed money even thinking about direct sowing. Here is the thing though I , and I am sure many others , have been growing beans for more than thirty years and I just don't get trying to get a crop two weeks earlier than just waiting until the weather is fine and sewing the seed and letting it do its thing as I say I never used to try and grow direct sown beans before the beginning of June its not worth it However plants raise from sowings under cover need space and then hardening off and then planting out as well as forming a good root system after planting out I ask is it worth the time and extra effort ? And what happens if you get a cold snap just after you have planted out those precious seedlings you raised under cover ?

[victoria park]

I was explaining my logic and experience DD, not yours 
In comparison, compost or no, it's faff, it's time, and just another thing for me to trip over
Just like peas, draw furrows, chuck your seed in, and cover it up. Unlike peas, when the seedlings are expected to emerge, protect from slugs.

On an aside, your deep cat litter tray thing got me searching for a new leek system, and I've had huge success this year with sowing leeks in a clump in the greenhouse border prior to transplanting.......... the deepest cat litter tray I could find.

[mdjlucan]

I just noticed that all my French dwarf beans are reappearing it must've been the  Cold weather  where I thought I lost them