Where have all my beans gone!.

Zoomer44

Thought I'd try saving french/runner bean seeds for next year, how difficult can it be? Gardeners have been saving seeds aince Adam was a lad, so left some on the plants to dry. It's been so wet though some are going moldy on the plant so I've picked them all and put them in the GH to dry. 

Some pods although fairly large didn't appear to have any beans in them and so I' had a sneaky look and they don't have any beans in  and in others the beans are ever so tiny, is there anything I'm doing wrong or is it case of being patient, and, wait and see? .

sotongeoff

I bought a couple of dry pods in a few days ago -just had a look -5 usable beans and one titchy one

There are still a few on the plants but whether they will come to anything before the frosts gets them is in the lap of the gods

So Zoomer -I don't think you have done anything wrong-I am blaming the weather -but I blame that for everything

Zoomer44

Thanks, Geoff for the reasurance. 

I've just bought some new varieties for next year, the type which can be dried for eating but wanted to sow some of this years varieties next year too and didn't want to purchase them. Saving seeds is something of a learning curve, I was hoping for lots of seeds to swap but if there's a dozen seeds from each plant, I'll be happy.

Know what you mean about the weather, beans have done really well here though and as they grow up rather than taking up ground space are ideal for a small garden veg grower.

Terence Jones

I regularly save (White Lady) runner bean seed every year by designating just one plant in the row, usually end of row, to be my seed providor. I don't pick any beans on this plant though  the growing season, just let them all mature. At the end of the season as the pods start to dry off naturally. I pick all the pods and find I have ample seed for next year, albeit redirecting any smaller ones to the kitchen for consumption.

Zoomer44

Terence - I only grow a couple of plants for each variety and grew five varieties this year, so leaving a whole plant isn't really practical although I can see the sense in doing so.

There maybe some cross pollination too with the seeds I do get as they were grown next to each other and had different coloured pods.

I checked some more pods this evening and some of the seeds are going mouldy, any suggestions.  

Terence Jones

In this case I would just open the pods you have picked and lay the beans out on  a flat or mesh surface to dry out, discarding any that are mouldy

Next season you could try leaving one of the early pods to mature on the plant during the summer. As a plant ceases flowering once it has completed it's cycle of flowering and producing mature seed, keep regularly picking the rest of the beans while they are young to keep the plant producing.

good luck.

TJ.

 

Zoomer44

Thanks for the advice. I've started to open the pods.

There were no sizable beans in the yellow podded one's and none in the cream/red pods but it's looking better than I thought for the other varieties, over 50 seeds from the purple podded one's and 12 large white/purple seeds from painted lady  although there are lots of  tiny green seeds which presumably are no good and 4 seeds from the green podded one's.

I'm pleased with the result, would have been really disappointed if there'd been no seeds. I'll do as you advice for next year.