[chrisb1357]

hi all,

I sowed my Dwarf French Beans into my Sq ft garden 3 weeks back and yet they have still not shown. How long should germination take as it does not say on the packet.

Chris

[barney rubble]

just checked and actually planted mine 26/3 - outdoors as i've nowhere else, and although some came up early others are only just beginning to show, but they appear healthy enough, so hopefully will bring them to fruition

[aelf]

depends how sunny/wet/sheltered/cold the spot you planted them is. I would expect something to be showing by now tho. pull the soil back gently and have a look for shoots, they may just be a bit slow. If you cant find anything the slugs have probably had them.

[Anton]

I had a look at mine yesterday evening and found they had more or less rotten in the soil. Too damp and cold up to now.

Anton

[jazzbyrd]

I sowed some dwarf french been seeds last Thursday in the greenhouse in 3 inch modules and they just about to come up. I would try some more indoors  and then plant them out !!

Jazz

[Salmo]

As well as cold wet and slugs both runner and french beans planted directly in the soil are often attacked by the maggots of the bean seed fly.

Bean seed flies are attracted to freshly disurbed soil, especially if there is manure or compost. They lay their eggs in the soil and the maggots that hatch will feed on lots of different plants. If germinating beans are present that is their favorite. They burrow into the seed and also eat the shoots. Beans will either not emerge at all or come up distorted and chewed. French beans often come up with their seed leaves badly distorted or missing.

The solution is to grow in pots. The beans do not need to develop much before you plant them out. Once the first leaves have opened they can go in, but they are easily broken off at that stage.

[chrisb1357]

I am going to take a look in the morning and see what i can find where i sowed them. If you say about the fly etc on them under the soil will this cause problems to my other veg. There is debris netting over the whole area

Chris

[sunshineband]

When I planted mine they took ten days, but under plastic at the beginning of April. You could lay a square of polythene over the area if you have to plant some more, and take it off as soon as you see signs of life.

If you want to .....................

[chrisb1357]

Had a look around in the soil today, Noticed 2 are just braking through the soil surface and another one is routing

Chris

[aelf]

there you go. Can't rush nature! now all you have to do is watch out for slugs n birds n mice  :blink: remind me why we do this again.....

[Wombat18]

Still waiting for mine... about two weeks since I put them in, so fingers crossed.   

[Oliver]

Still waiting for mine... about two weeks since I put them in, so fingers crossed.   

Beans like warm soil and they sprout very quickly. So its always worth being patient and don't sow before the soil warms up.
I always start my beans off on moist kitchen towel (don't let it dry out). After about 3 days the seeds have little roots. So then they get potted up, being careful not to break off the little white roots and they stay in the greenhouse till the leaves appear. They go outside in the daytime, and back in a night for about a fortnight, then I plant them in early June.
I sow a second lot direct in the soil when I plant out the plants. You can even sow a third lot in mid June (this is 'down south' - don't know about growing conditions in the colder regions 'up north').
this applies to dwarf french beans, runners, climbing french, barlotti etc.
Oliver

[Wombat18]

Thanks for the advice Oliver, I'll get some more started at home, then if the first lot fail at least I'll have one crop on the go.  I'm pretty new at this so at the moment my strategy is just 'stick things in the ground and see what happens'.   

[Oliver]

Thanks for the advice Oliver, I'll get some more started at home, then if the first lot fail at least I'll have one crop on the go.  I'm pretty new at this so at the moment my strategy is just 'stick things in the ground and see what happens'.   

You're welcome to what I know - I also (after all these years) work pretty much on the same principle as you for new stuff. I always grow the same things every year now because I know they 'work' on my plot, but I try new varieties of them. Other things I gave up long ago because it was just not worth the trouble and heartache!
Having said that, I have, over the past 5 years been successful with (winter) Cauliflower - fantastic crop - large ones. The small chappie on the bag of raisens was a summer variety 'Idol' just big enough for one really!
and this year I have actually got parsnips to hatch (18 plants!). I warned them, if they did not do something this year, then never again. And they did.
Good luck with your crops this season
Oliver

[barney rubble]

hope my caulis come out as nice Oliver I'm seeing what happens too