[missmoneypenny]

All my French beans ( cobra) planted about 10 days ago have not come up so I checked on them and absolutely nothing has happened. The seed packet said plant before year ending 2019. Is it worth pre soaking and trying again with other seeds from the packet, or should I try and get hold of new seed?

[JayG]

Try germinating them on damp kitchen roll in a sealed plastic box (my old Cobra seeds all germinated in 3 days - a week's no-show would suggest new seeds required methinks - still time.)

[missmoneypenny]

Thanks JayG I’ll give that a go now. Will report back if they do germinate.

[Growster...]

One of our good chums here gave me some 'Cherokee Trail of Tears', which are an American/French bean (if you can work that out...), and we love them as normal French beans, but I think they are also just fabulous as soaked and boiled black beans!

The trouble is, that every year, I let the older ones dry, and use them from a glass jar, which has three year's worth of growth and who the heck can tell which one was last year's..:0(

So it's touch and go, but this year roughly half germinated, and they're pretty robust, even after a year or so.

Next year, I'll be more careful, as they are a fantastic crop! We hope to grow about thirty, and near the runners, so we'll get the glorious colours as well!

[jambop]

All my French beans ( cobra) planted about 10 days ago have not come up so I checked on them and absolutely nothing has happened. The seed packet said plant before year ending 2019. Is it worth pre soaking and trying again with other seeds from the packet, or should I try and get hold of new seed?

Clue is in what the packet said before end 2019 I would not waste anymore time get some fresh seed, you are well past the sow by date, and start them off asap! It is not too late by any means some people down here have not started their beans off yet because french beans will not grow properly unless they get warm weather. Although most people do not start seeds in pots like we do they are sown direct.

[missmoneypenny]

Thanks Jambop I’ll start my quest for new seeds tomorrow, but the miser in me is going to try chitting  the old ones in a jam jar, just in case.
Growster I'm intrigued by your Anglo French beans. Just be careful they don’t turn against your English beans. Lafayette here we come.

[JimB]

,
I had trouble with Cobra seeds in some previous years as the seed quickly rotted on first and second sowings.
Then I discovered that from the third sowing onward being later in the growing season, I was not putting the pots in poly bags and the seeds germinated perfectly,
This season I planted 24 seeds, 23 germinated, they are  3 to 4 inches high at the moment, none were in poly bags.
As for use by, sell by dates they are imagery dated stamped on everything by law I sow successfully seeds long past their sell by date, tomatoes, carrots and brassicas are good examples, lettuce and parsnips not so!

Cheers!

[AnneB]

As for use by, sell by dates they are imagery dated stamped on everything by law I sow successfully seeds long past their sell by date, tomatoes, carrots and brassicas are good examples, lettuce and parsnips not so!

Cheers!

I agree with you about most seeds Jim.  I do find that onions, carrots, lettuce and parsnip don't last.  However everything else seems to ignore the date on the packet. 
This year I have successfully germinated some All The Year Round cauliflower dated as use by 2011.
"Out of date" peas and beans I have no problem with.  They must be stored in a cool dry place though.

I wonder if the problem is the temperature the beans are being asked to germinate at? 

[Eugene]

You're not alone, I'm on my second go already. I have a packet of 'Blue Lake', they have thus far been a no show. One successfully germinated out of twenty. Just potted another twenty this week so fingers crossed.
Reading the comments here, I may as well just try the rest of them on kitchen roll. Otherwise its into the compost !

Good luck to us all.

[jambop]

The thing about these seeds is they need warmth to trigger their germination if you cannot muster a steady 20+ C I think you are wasting your time getting them to grow properly. If I sowed 20 beans seeds and non came up it would be down to one of two things the lack of warmth or the seed is not viable. If it was warm enough and say 50% came up I would think the seed was getting past it however with non coming through I would say it is not enough heat and the seeds have just rotted or less like seeds that have gone over.

[Growster...]

Thanks Jambop I’ll start my quest for new seeds tomorrow, but the miser in me is going to try chitting  the old ones in a jam jar, just in case.
Growster I'm intrigued by your Anglo French beans. Just be careful they don’t turn against your English beans. Lafayette here we come.

If you'd like some, Missy, you only have to ask!

Again, germination could be sketchy, but I've got at least 50% success!

PM me if you'd like me to send you some!

[missmoneypenny]

Hello Growster that is most kind I really appreciate your offer.
I’m having another go with the Cobras, pre soaking and trying them in a jam jar on wet kitchen paper, and keeping the lot indoors.

[jambop]

Hello Growster that is most kind I really appreciate your offer.
I’m having another go with the Cobras, pre soaking and trying them in a jam jar on wet kitchen paper, and keeping the lot indoors.

If you have been trying to germinate the beans outdoors in an unheated greenhouse then I think this is where your problem lies. These beans will not get going unless they are kept warm. I have germinated french beans and had them well through the ground in 5 days out in the open here in June but the same seeds just rotted in the ground in late April .

[Growster...]

Too right, Jambop.

I'm on a second batch high up in the GH with the light and the heat, and they're doing much better this time around!

[jambop]

Too right, Jambop.

I'm on a second batch high up in the GH with the light and the heat, and they're doing much better this time around!

People think that french beans are an easy veg to cultivate... they are if you have the right conditions if you don't the are hard to grow well and a disappointment. It may surprise some to hear that down here in SW France few people have actually got their beans going yet the reason is that the soil is still quite cold and the weather, as we are seeing is unpredictable. I have got some early beans going because I sowed them in small pots in the greenhouse when the weather was really fine and even then they took ten days to come through. Most people down here sow directly into the soil so beans are just a bit later this way. As said I have sown seeds on a Sunday and they have been well through the soil by Friday after in a nice warm June... cool wet April/May forget it