ENORMA RUNNER BEANS

[Compo]

I thought I would try some of these renowned seeds this year and they have rotted off in the pots before germinating, any idea why, is it common for this variety? What should I sow now runner bean wise, I like to pick the pods tender and young and leave a few to go long for the village show.

CoMpO

[oldherbaceous]

Morning Compo, the very common reason for Runner bean seed to rot of in the pots is, the compost being to wet, this is made all the worse by cold temperatures.

Not saying yours have been of course.

I don't think Enorma would be an more likely to rot than any other variety.

[alan refail]

Hi CoMpO

Just to add to OH's suggestion: runner beans do not germinate well below about 56 to 60 F. Cold combined with wet = rot

[Elaine]

Hi CoMpO. I grow Enorma and my seeds have taken almost 2 weeks to germinate, in my un-heated greenhouse. I have attributed this to the low temperature this year, as usually they have germinated in a few days.

I would sow some more Enorma, as they are a lovely runner bean...I've tried other varieties and always come back to this one.
Cheers.

[Colin Miles]

Like Elaine I have tried others and come back to Enorma, not just because they are a lovely bean, but because here in wet Wales they have performed so much better than other more modern varieties.

This year I have put the beans in a tray on wet tissue to pre-germinate them and then, knowing which ones were live put them in roottrainers which are now sitting on the window-sill. Did the same with some French Bean seeds because only 2 out of 32 had germinated in the greenhouse last month.

[Compo]

This is probably also a good time for me to get rid of the bag of treated seed from Mole Valley that also did not germinate last year, I think I will get some fresh seed and put half on kitchen paper and half in pots and see how I get on. (am i right that enorma is a white flowering variety?)

CoMpO

[alan refail]

(am i right that enorma is a white flowering variety?)

CoMpO

NO

[Primrose]

All my Enorma beans rotted this year before germinating and I had them on an indoor window sill. My second attempt are in loo rolls and I've left half the bean exposed to try and avoid rotting again but I'm still seeing mould appear around the bean. The bag of sowing compost I have this year seems much darker & wetter than ones I've previously used. The compost seems to stick together like clay when wet and then dry out very quickly, so possibly that is the cause of my difficulty as I can never keep it at a consisent level of moisture.
Strangely, virtually all the Cobra French beans I sowed in the same compost have germinated. My Enorma beans are two years old. Could this be part of the problem? I've often kept beans for 2 or 3 years and they've still germinated.

[Mike Vogel]

The beans which i bought as Enorma produced white flowers. I got good germination from the seed I saved on damp kitchen paper in an unheated greenhouse.

[Primrose]

I think in future I'm going to follow Mike's method of pre-germinating my runner beans on damp tissue paper. Mike - do you keep this damp tissue paper in the dark and how long does it take before they start showing any signs of action? The dilemma when the beans are covered with a layer of compost is that you never know exactly what is happening. Often they can be just quietly rotting away why you're fondly imagining that the germination process is still under way.

[Colin Miles]

I've grown Enorma for over 40 years and they have always been red-flowered. Can't find any evidence on-line of a white-flowered variety.

[freddy]

Hi. I'm growing Enorma myself this year, for the first time. My usual method is to sow them in pots, using multi-purpose compost. In the past the results have been less than I would have hoped, probably something I'm doing wrong. Last year, I just sowed them straight in the ground, and every one came up. I reckon that SOMETIMES we try TOO hard to give them what we think they want, and over-complicate things. Just a thought....

Cheers...freddy.

[Primrose]

Freddy - you may be right about too much care and attention. Wild flowers and weeds seem to thrive, whatever conditions they are sown in. Perhaps I talk too much to all my germinating seed trays. Perhaps seeds don't necessary like to be "hothoused" but I find the main advantage of sowing in pots or modules is to avoid slug damage. However, if fewer of them germinate by this method, I'm not sure one necessarly gains much.

[Mike Vogel]

Not my method, Primrose; more likely I got the idea from Johnboy.

I germinated my beans in a discarded cutlery tray, which goes inside a drawer. I wrapped each row of beans in damp kitchen towelling and I put the whole thing in a clear polythene bag. I actually kept this in an unheated greenhouse, but indoors would have done just as well.

As for Enorma, I am happy to accept that Enorma are red-flowered and the little white beans I've been labelling as Enorma are something else. I'll check out the OGC when I can find it and report back.