[Subversive_plot]

Normally I don't bother chitting bean seeds (meaning French beans). You get beans wet, they sprout fast, easy, no trouble, just like peas right? Light or dark, it shouldn't matter?   However . . .

• The seeds I have are packaged to be sold by December 2021, so I'm a little outside their freshness date. I wanted to be able to see what sprouts and what doesn't (but my assumption is those seeds should be fine since they were for last year, and worked with no problems)
• Soil moisture and rainfall has been uneven, I wanted to give the seeds a head start

I soaked each type of seed overnight, drained them, placed them in clear plastic containers.  The seeds took on water, have at least doubled in size. . . and nothing.  No radicle showing, nothing.  The seeds were on my indoor plant stand with florescent lights.

I was wondering if light is the problem. Do they need dark to finish germination?

Right now, the plastic containers are wrapped to block out all light.

So my question is, which is right: (1) keep them dark (except for a visual check occasionally)?, or (2) bring the containers back into the light? (3) or seeds are probably bad, replace them?

Or something else?

Thanks for any suggestions.

[missmoneypenny]

I had the same with my borlotti beans ( in Tupperware on top of my fridge so not excluded from light). I have taken a blade to the tough membrane outside the cotyledon and made a shallow 7-10mm incision. That seems to have sorted it, the shoots came out shortly afterwards.

[Subversive_plot]

I'll give that a try if the darkness doesn't work.

Beans are usually so easy to sprout, I'm kind of surprised these are having so much trouble!   

[JayG]

My vote is for unviable seed - I daresay there are exceptions, but in nature most seeds germinate ok on the soil surface (they have to!)

I tend to have more germination problems with 'old' cucurbit seeds than beans, but in my experience any type can fail unexpectedly without even a hint of an apology! 

[Subversive_plot]

Thanks Jay

I'll give them until the weekend to do something (first time I'll have time to look for seeds anyway).

[mumofstig]

I chit mine inside clear plastic containers, so light shouldn't be a problem, but the older the big pea and bean seeds get, IMO, the longer it takes them to sprout, maybe because they get so very dry... My old Gigandes seeds took what seemed like forever, but was actually a couple of weeks.

[Aunt Sally]

I agree with the above.  Soak. Tupperware box on wet kitchen towel.  Leave the box on the kitchen worktop for a few days and away they go.  I think beans take a little longer than peas.

[Subversive_plot]

Well, giving the seeds a "time out" in the dark seems to have encourage some seeds to finally sprout.  The Cherokee Wax beans seem to have a lower germination rate than expected (probably due to old seed?).  I am chitting some additional seed to compensate.  I'm fairly sure darkness was not the reason they suddenly started growing; it probably was just time (I was being impatient!).

The Kentucky Wonder seed is germinating more slowly, but with a better germination rate.  I'll see if I need to chit more seed.

I used some of the sprouting Cherokee Wax for an aminopyralid "test" on some new/suspicious compost.  We'll see what happens.  This is the first time in many years of using this municipal compost that I have experienced a problem.  I called the city about it, they indicate they have had at least one other complaint.

The remaining seed will be sown in beds not affected by the new compost.