2016 Little Easy Bean Network - Gardeners Keeping Heirloom Beans From Extinction

[aftermidnight]

LOL, well I have a site marked to grow 15 vines, looks like I might have to look for space for a couple more .
Annette

 

[Ridgerunner]

@Bluejay77 as of this morning 14 of the first 15 (#45) I started have germinated and 4 out of the 5 extras l started in case some were duds. They're all numbered and in 4 packs until they get their first pair of leaves. Any that don't look healthy I'll discard but so far things are looking good.
This leaves 5 of the original lot you sent, maybe next year for them. Some took a long time germinating, up to 11 days. What I did with the slowpokes was nick the seed coats with a pin, that seemed to get them moving .

Annette

Where and how did you nick them? Could you give a little description please? Just in case.

 

[aftermidnight]

Where and how did you nick them? Could you give a little description please? Just in case.

A picture is worth a thousand words, click on the picture to make it bigger . If after 5 days in damp paper towel they haven't germinated I take a straight pin and just nick the softened skin and lift a tiny flap right where the black dot is.

I was hoping for 100% germination but it looks like the last one is a dud, 19 out of 20 ain't bad tho.

Annette

 

[Ridgerunner]

You are right, a picture is really great. Thanks.

 

[aftermidnight]

Another example, nicked on the 5th day germination 3 days later.

 

[PhilaGardener]

That's a radicle idea!

 

[Tricia77]

How do you decide where to nick it or doesn't it matter?

 

[Blue-Jay]

You don't want to nick the seed on either side of the eye of the seed because that is where the little embryo bean plant is inside the seed. There is potential to damage the embyo. You want to go to the opposite side of the seed. Away from the eye. I have also been told you can do this with a finger nail clipper, but just take out a little piece of the seed coat. You don't want to dig into what is the cotyledons. Nicking the seed allows the seed to absorb water more easily. Sometimes with age the seeds becomes drier and has a harder time absorbing enough water.

Aftermidnight's original seed that I sent her was harvested in 2007 according to the seed packet that it came in from Will Bonsall. 9 years old. So much for these seed longevity charts you see in books and on the internet. For beans it's only supposed to be three years. I don't think Will kept this seed in a freezer because it's very dark. It's probably been just sitting perhaps in his basement or somewhere close to room temperature. If you kept beans in a freezer they would probably last 25 years or more.

One interesting thing about seed in a freezer and seed not stored that way. I had put a lot of my 2013 seed crop in my freezer in canning jars. I had a portion of that 2013 seed crop in baby food jars on my bean shelves in my basement so I could quickly access seed for filling seed requests. When I ran out of a variety and had to thaw some out of the freezer I noticed the freezer kept seed coats was still so much lighter in color than the basement kept seeds. That tells me that the freezer kept seed is oxidizing at a much slower rate. I was amazed how much it slowed down the oxidization of the seed coats.

Oxidization is also what slowly brings the germination process to it's end. The germination process in seeds is set off by an amino acid process that when the seed is at the right minimum temperature and gets enough moisture in the seed. The amino acids get the little embryo plant to start growing. The amino acids in the seed over time oxidize and when enough of those amino acids have broken down. Then the seed no longer has the ability to germinate. So if you can keep seed dry and colder it preserves them longer. It's moisture and air that slowly does them in.

 

[aftermidnight]

So, maybe I've been nicking a little too close? I'm very careful not to nick the cotyledon itself, just nicking and lifting the softened seed coat with a straight pin. The 20th bean of the 20 started is indeed a dud, threw it out this morning . I was hoping for 100% germination and bragging rights, no such luck, there's nothing like being taken down a peg or two, keeps one humble .

Annette

 

[teamneu]

@Bluejay77, got your seeds - thanks!