It sounds like the seeds were exposed to excessive moisture during their drying period. This happens, in particular, later in the season - since beans ripen slowly in cool weather, and are more vulnerable to spoilage.

They could still be good enough to plant; but only a germination test could tell for sure, and you probably don't have enough seed for that. I certainly wouldn't count on them, if failure is not an option. If the variety is commercially available, you might consider starting over with fresh seed. But if you plant just the seeds from the one good pod, you could get a lot of seed... a pampered pole bean plant can easily produce 300 seeds or more.

Ah, too bad. Well, that sounds like good advice. I think I shall try to grow just one or two vines (I still have the three or four good seeds to work with), use this for seed, and then replant the following year. The beans are not commercially available, so I'll have to plant another variety for the main crop I guess.

"The beans are not commercially available, so I'll have to plant another variety for the main crop I guess."

If I may ask, PS, what was the name of the variety? I or someone else here might be able to find a source.

I would take some of your poorer looking seeds and plant them in a pot indoors in some warm place. See what comes up. I did this and was pleasantly surprised at the vigorous bean plants that popped up. Sadly, only to be taken to the compost heap.

I was hoping Plantslayer would answer Zeedman's question about which varieties he has. Somebody might even have seeds available for trade.

If it were me, I'd just wait till conditions were ideal, soil warmed up, and plant them and see if they come up. I have several less-than-ideally matured seeds due to hail damage last year, and that's what I'm going to do with them.

For seeds that are rare, or that have either suspected or demonstrated poor germination, the planting method I recommend is to start them indoors in pots. Use a sterile soil-less medium, and boiled water, to minimize the chance of rotting. The object is not to start them early, but to minimize losses & produce a uniform stand. The use of transplants also protects from early losses due to insects, birds, or animals.

So I'm in agreement with Tcstoehr's advice... but plant them indoors at the same time you would normally plant them outside, so you can transplant any which come up.

You don't need to get a good germination rate to preserve a variety; even a single bean plant will provide quite a bit of seed. Several of the heirloom bean varieties I grow now were initially rescued from a single surviving plant. Last year, only 1 out of 50 seeds of the bush bean "Atlas" germinated. That single plant produced about 80 seeds, which I hope to multiply to a larger quantity this year.

The beans in question are a variety from Taiwan that a GW member in Canada sent me. I could ask her to send me more, but I don't really want to pester her since she sent them to me for free without a trade. The beans look a lot like rattlesnake beans, but the lady who sent them to me tells me she has grown rattlesnake beans as well, and that these are shorter. They produced very well in the Seattle area.

I would say that most people in the West would probably eat them as dry beans rather than pods, but my wife who is from northern China likes this kind of meaty broad pod, which requires a bit of stewing, rather than the thinner crisp kinds.

plantslayer, I just sent you an email through GW.

Annette

Zeedman is right about the advantages of starting seed in sterile mix away from animals, frost and other problems, at a time conducive to planting out when ready.

Make sure that there is adequate bright light available to the starts, maybe light air movement to strengthen the stems, and careful hardening off before planting out. A leggy, tender transplant can also die after planting out, and then it's almost more of a disappointment as you thought it was going to make it.

I usually direct seed beans, and do lose some to damping off, birds, cutworms, etc. Once they make it to the several leaf stage, though, they are probably going to survive and produce and be a strong plant. I also never plant all of the original seed, just in case.

I've always capped beans with plastic coke bottles- keeps birds and the like from eating the bean before or shortly after it sprouts. It also seems to keep slugs and cutworms away, though I am sure it is not infallible. It doesn't ensure warm temperatures oc, but if you plant them at the right time that shouldn't be a problem. :)