Kitchen Garden Forum

First I knew about this was last back-end when I sowed grazing rye to overwinter, next experience was that I recently sowed 40 French bush bean seeds in a bed that has self seeding borage. Although I'm continually pulling the borage seedlings out as they emerge not one of those 40 French bean seeds has sprouted during a perfect time of year.

Do we know enough about this phenomena, I'm sure it could be useful though being aware of the likelihood would also be useful.

It's not the first time this has happened though the first time with borage as the suspect, any experiences to share ?

Richard, we have self-seeding borage scattered in different beds but I have never experienced any problems with them stopping other seeds germinating. Have you explored whether the beans are in fact still there? I would suggest that mice or voles have helped themselves to your seeds. I certainly cannot direct sow beans or peas because the little blighters come out of the dry stone walls around our allotment and dig them out for their lunch.!

Well yes, but, all,those seeds ?

Also I did notice that on a patch of bare and very fertile soil very other weeds were showing their heads at a time of year when they tend to take over.

It was just an idea.

So, all those seeds disappeared.

They didn't rot because I would have seen some evidence and I didn't see any evidence of mice digging the seeds out and carefully replacing the soil so that I wouldn't notice.

Also, very few weeds have germinated in that bed, Just Borage.

I sowed beans seeds into pots, they emerged within a week and are now two inches high and planted out into that bed.

Very weird.

Richard I have the same dire experience sowing French beans direct in the soil and less than 5% seem to germinate. The rest just disappear. I don't think it,s mice in my case but wood pigeons. I spotted a wood pigeon strutting steadily along a newly sowed row just digging all the peas up with its. beak and gobbling them down. I now sow all my beans in cells, punnets or pots and don't plant out until they are several inches high. If the weather is very wet they can quickly rot too and disappear.

But the soil hadn't been disturbed Primrose, and we only have collared doves. Not Wood pigeons, I have only ever seen the doves around my bird feeders picking up fallen seed, though they still make that coo-cooing noise in the morning.

If you think they might rot without trace then I'll go for that solution and not bother sowing direct, the seeds I sowed in pots germinated outside and are now in the ground as seedlings. All within ten days.

The French climbing beans I planted ages ago are not doing very well even though they are producing flowers, the weather is regularly cooler and breezier here during summer and whilst half of my plot is now better sheltered I'll still be walking about with a jacket or wooly when down in the town they are in shorts and Ts.

I mustn't complain, it really is an amazing place to live and there is nearly always a solution to each problem.

A lot of French beans just don't seem to be germinators at all. My last batch I started off on damp kitchen paper and less than 50% of them chitted before being transferred to compost. They certainly don't like cold weather and wind either.
Incidentally when I've had beans fail to germinate in cells, I've poked around and found that they have dissolved into mush and disappeared very quickly so that may be what has happened in your case.