Kitchen Garden Forum

Another question on which I'd welcome your views.

We picked a batch of overgrown mature French beans this morning before the rain set in to dry for next year's seed. Given the ever increasing price of seed packets this seems a"no brainer" thing to do.

Do you think the speed at which the beans dry affects their future germination rates. . I can't make up my mind whether a quicker dry in the airing cupboard or a slower dry on the window sill would affect their future viability , or is a dried bean just "a dried bean" no matter how it' s processed ?

I imagine future storage conditions can also impact on germination viability ?

Morning Primrose,
Taken from the Real Seeds website:-

To collect the seeds, allow the pods to mature fully on the plant until they start to yellow and dry out. In wet weather, collect the pods individually as they get to this stage. Then spread out somewhere out of the rain with a good airflow until the pods are fully dry and brittle. Once they are dry, shell out the beans and dry further out of the pods. The beans should be dry enough that they break when you bite on them, rather than leaving a dent. Store in an airtight container. If they are well dried, and stored in a cool dark place, the beans will last around 3 years.

If you have problems with weevils eating your seeds, put the sealed container in the freezer for a week immediately after drying the beans; this will kill any insect eggs before they hatch. When you take them out, let the container come up to room temperature before opening it, otherwise the beans will absorb moisture from the air.

Hope it helps.

That,s really helpful Snooky. Thank you. Well I,ve left the remaining beans on the plants after yesterday,s thorough drowning and will see what happens to them and if any mire are worth saving for seed. Given my seeming inability to get Beans to germinate well at the first sowing I'll probably need plenty of spares for backups.

I don’t think it will matter if it’s alive, which it surely is. I thought the same about my dried broad beans that had hot direct sunlight for weeks. I don’t think it will make any difference. No proof to speak of here.