a question abut peas and beans

Gardening to 'grow your own food' from square foot to half an acre !!
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Freeranger
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a question abut peas and beans

Post by Freeranger »

Hi,

I have some old beans and peas (their 3rd year?) which are unusual varieties so I wanted to grow them to get the mileage out of each packet. They stayed in warm damp soil(last year's) for a few days before germinating and I might have wet them too much thinking that they might need the help. They went mouldy, but have germinated anyway - at last! Will they be alright like that, can anyone tell me please? Do I need to do anything to help them? The peas were first and are about 5-6" high, with mange tout at about 4" - all indoors at the moment. The top leaves on all of them look a little bit dry, although they feel fine to touch and the lower leaves are perfect. If anyone had ideas on what that was I'd be grateful Thanks for reading.
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lancashire lass
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Re: a question abut peas and beans

Post by lancashire lass »

With peas and beans, soaking them overnight is fine but thereafter they should be allowed to drain such as on top of damp tissue (a form of chitting or sprouting) and then sow the beans when the root emerges. Beans need more warmth to germinate so they run the risk of going mouldy if left in cold damp soil as they will not germinate quick enough.

TBH, I direct sow my peas and beans now - I used to sow indoors and then had to harden off before planting. The plants never seemed to do well after. A few years ago I participated in a RHS trial of mangetout and followed the instructions precisely - I was not confident of sowing direct, but they turned out to be the best and more productive plants I've ever grown.

If the plants have germinated, then I think they will be fine although watch out for damping off if the compost is too wet. Do make sure they get plenty of sunlight. Peas don't need it overly warm but the beans will.
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