[oakridge]

Apologies to that group of youngsters, The Rolling Stones.

Anyway, pretty well everything I sow comes up except legumes.  Very frustrating.  I have tried soaking the seed, chitting it, rubbing it and just shoving it in the ground or a seed tray, nothing seems to work well. 

[Auntiemogs]

I chit mine in damp kitchen roll in a plastic container (runner beans I soak overnight first), but make a point of rinsing it off every day as it can easily start to fester. Then I put the sprouting seeds into 20 cell trays, and water VERY sparingly using an old water bottle with a nozzle.  It's very easy to overwater at this point, and the seed will rot off......

[oakridge]

Thank you Auntiemogs it seems very likely that I am overwatering.

[JayG]

Peas chit very easily but the only reason for doing so IMHO  would be to try to get them off to a flying start to reduce the chances of mice or slug attack (pigeons come later!)

I find white runner beans very rot-prone, and although I soak them first it's only for a couple of hours, and like AuntieMogs I rinse (and then inspect) them every day whilst chitting to make sure none of them is going to rot rather than germinate. In a warm place those which are going to make it usually have done so in as little as 3 days.

Sounds like a faff but it seems necessary with these white ones (never used to have problems sowing the purple ones without chitting indoors.)

[Salmo]

If you soak runner beans they first go wrinkled and then swell. Overnight is about the right time, too much and some of them will burst their skins. They do not need any more water to germinate, just put them into damp compost or the soil. Do not water the compost unless it is very dry.

Peas also respond to soaking but just for a couple of hours. More than that and they just take in water and burst their skins (just as they do if you get heavy rain immediately after sowing in the ground, or water too heavily)

[Thrutchington]

Very helpful advice this, I have had problems with peas and beans this year, probably too much water as suggested above. Thanks for sharing the knowledge.