Zone 8b. Beds aren't quite ready so I decided to try starting my pole beans in seed snails this year. 100% germination on the Kew Blue from Adaptive Seeds. Had similar results with the Blue Lake Pole last year but not so much this year. Seeds were stored in an insulated garden shed, which these results suggest may have gotten too warm last summer. Lesson learned to sprout previous years' beans before planting. Fortunately I still have plenty of seeds and time to direct sow if this experiment doesn't work out!
by birdsbirdsbirdsbirds
17 Comments
storage methods matter a lot
I’m in a colder region than you and I start sowing green beans in early May and keep sowing another patch every 2-3 weeks until July. You have plenty of time to get more seeds and sow them.
There’s really no reason to try to start beans inside.
I store my seeds in the fridge – I don’t notice a drop-off in germination over 2-3 years for most seeds. Not sure about beans, but tomatoes, lettuce, Brussel sprouts, leeks, etc, are all fine. Onions not so much, and nothing pelleted.
Edit: embarrassing typo.
Storage method matters a lot. A garden shed might be literally the worst place to store them. Put them in airtight packaging in the fridge. They need to be kept cool, dry, and dark.
I read something cool from another Redditor about plant enzymes. I took a screenshot and don’t feel like digging through them, but basically it’s that the seeds lose enzymes over time. Take a banana or apple and slice it open, lay the seeds on them and put in a brown paper bag for a couple of days. I think, as far as I understand it, the seed grabs some of the fruit enzymes and borrows them in lieu of the plant enzymes it’s lost during aging.
You can remind me later if you want and I can look up the screenshot but that was pretty handy info. The Redditor was experimenting with upping the germination rate on 20 year old seeds. Pretty fascinating 🙂
My seeds are in plastic freezer containers with dessicant in a refrigerator. They last for years.
I have some seeds literally 10 years old that still have surprisingly high germination rates. But I store them indoors away from sunlight and moisture.
The seeds my dad leaves in the shed or garage do pretty poorly after even one year of fluctuating temperatures.
Thanks for the input, everyone! From now on I will store my seeds in an airtight container in the fridge.
We’ve got 2023 blue lake and we’ve had 6 out of 8 come up no bother.
I had issues with my blue lake, from last year, with the first set I tried to germinate. Thought the pack had gone bad so threw what I had left into pots to get a few more plants.
at least 80% of them germinated.
I have too many plants.
they wanted warmer perhaps your blue lake was slightly too cool/in a draft etc even compared to the blue kew. I recommend sowing any you have left, and expect them to do badly., they will do really well, sods law.
I just want to add that I store mine in a mason jar (with a little desiccant) in my basement, and that’s been just fine. Staying cool and dry and out of sunlight are the most important things!
to be little lazier, i just keep my seeds in my office/game room in a box. nothing special, but they last several years and im still getting good germination in bean seeds from 2020 🙂
I keep all my seeds in my freezer. I use a 3-ring binder with card sleeves. This year, I germinated onion seeds from 2019, and ended up with around 100 onion plants, if not more. Onions are really notorious for germination rates declining after the first year, but in my experience, it depends on your storage method. They like to be super cool and dry.
I also am having trouble with my blue lakes this year, all my other beans (black turtle, yellow wax, burgundy, another green bean I can’t remember the name of) are all killing it but my blue lakes had probably a 10-20 percent germination rate in the same soil and same area. They were from the same seed company bought at the same time.
I have seeds from 2018 still going strong.
They can last for almost ever, got to keep them in a cold place though. Thats how all the worlds seedbanks work
Yes you can always check the quality of your seeds by planting ten or 20 to see how they do.