new to beans - questions

[tnkrer]

Decided to add beans to the garden this year. I am going to plant (All seeds thanks to Gary)
Flamingo (Tormato's creation from what I read on gardenweb, cool) - pole
dragon's tongue - bush
good mother stallard - pole
blue lake - pole

Reviews have suggested that these do well in northern climates (e.g. cooler summers)

Most "advice" on web said not to transplant the beans. But I am seeing on tomatoville that people are starting beans indoors. I have tomatoes and peppers started indoors right now. They are going in container garden
beans are going in soil.

Questions
1. Should I start seeds indoors? I have had decent success starting seeds of tomato and pepper last year
2. How long before the transplants are ready to be planted out? I assume that I will be planting those out around June 1st, so want to know when to start seeds
3. Do bean plants like cold treatment? Can they survive cold treatment?

Thanks

[rxkeith]

you can start beans indoors if you want or need to. start seeds about two weeks before transplanting outside. beans need warmer soil to germinate. when you live where i do, it can take awhile for the soil to warm up. i have had some bad luck with the weather the last three years. cool rainy weather right after planting seeds outside prevented most seeds from germinating. the year i started seeds inside, we had a week of high 80s weather that stopped the plants from growing for a few weeks.
take some care when transplanting the beans to the garden. water them in well, and they should do fine.


keith

[Father'sDaughter]

Yes, they can be started indoors and then planted out to the garden. I would only recommend starting them in a large enough container so that you can avoid having to pot them up.

What I did last year was start half of them indoors and on the day I plant them out direct sow the other half. It worked out well so I'm doing the same this year.

[drew51]

When I do these sensitive seeds, I use those peat pots, cut the bottom out and plant the pot. That was you don't disturb the root structure that much. With beans I sow directly though.

[habitat_gardener]

I always start my beans in 6-packs and plant them out before they start getting tangled (within 2 weeks). Before I started doing that, I'd plant, the birds and squirrels would watch, and then when I left the community garden, they'd either dig them up, or wait for the first sprouts and then eat those.

Also, planting in pots gives me more time to make space in the garden and prepare the soil.

[NewWestGardener]

I would also start indoors in deep pots, like large coffee cups. 1 or 2 seeds per cup, not to be seperated when transplanting. I got about 10% survival from direct sowing, but 100% from transplanting, last year.
After the tomatoe and pepper seedlings goes outside for climatization, the vacated lights can be used by the beans.

[rhines81]

I usually just direct sow my beans... I've always had good results (however) this year I am pondering to germinate half indoors and direct sow the other half when I transplant as Father'sDaughter does. My reasoning for that is to hopefully get an early crop. My peas and lettuce will get direct sown a couple of weeks prior to planting the beans, but also pondering doing a split indoor grow/direct sow with them as well (I need to make up my mind more quickly on those).

[rhines81]

Also for the first time I am trying an inoculant on the seeds which supposedly provides a 50% greater yield, especially for planting in areas where beans and peas have not been grown before. I have segregated my garden this year, so the beans and peas will be in a brand new location with fresh soil. Not sure if it is true, but for $1.99 I suppose it is worth a try.

[rhines81]

Originally Posted by tnkrer

I assume that I will be planting those out around June 1st, so want to know when to start seeds

So far, it looks like June 1st would be the earliest for outdoor planting in my region (and you are farther north). The weather service so far is predicting a slightly below average temperature forecast so we may even be delayed an additional week. Luckily beans can tolerate a slightly lower soil temperature than tomatoes and peppers. But for direct sow, it could still delay the germination progress. That is why I am leaning towards an indoor start this year.

[dustdevil]

Originally Posted by rhines81

So far, it looks like June 1st would be the earliest for outdoor planting in my region (and you are farther north). The weather service so far is predicting a slightly below average temperature forecast so we may even be delayed an additional week. Luckily beans can tolerate a slightly lower soil temperature than tomatoes and peppers. But for direct sow, it could still delay the germination progress. That is why I am leaning towards an indoor start this year.

Being Zone 5b, you should be able to sow beans directly outdoors around May 15th.

[rhines81]

Originally Posted by dustdevil

Being Zone 5b, you should be able to sow beans directly outdoors around May 15th.

On an average year, that is still pushing it a little for sowing beans. My peas will definitely be out by then. We will be in the low 60s for daytime highs and still hovering right around 40 degrees for nightly lows at that time according to the long-term forecast. This is about 7-8 degrees below what we would normally have. It looks like we will break 70F for the first time on May 20th, but then the temperature drops again. June we will see nighttime lows in the 50s and more consistent 70F days. In a few weeks the forecast will get more accurate, so its a waiting game for now.
I am at 2000 feet altitude, so it's a little colder here than it is even 15 miles away.

[drew51]

I start mine around June 1st, seems plenty of season left when doing so. Last year I planted in raised beds, and I guess the soil was warmer, this year in the ground. I will plant my melons at that time too, but will start indoors.
I'm only planting pole beans. Trying some different types.

[Tracydr]

In AZ,where seasons are short and it gets too hot for regular beans, I always checked soil temperatures before sowing outdoors. I think I usually waited until soil temps were around 65 but please look that up before using that number. I use an instant read thermometer or a laser thermometer to check the soil after digging a couple inches.

[jon_dear]

The only reason I can see to transplant beans would be if it were very rare (and I only had a few seeds) or if you were trying to germinate very old seed. Here in Maine there is plenty of time to get a good crop once the soil warms. I suppose if I were trying to get an earlier crop, warming the soil with plastic and or floating row cover over low tunnels would work. It just seems like an awful lot more work to gain a week or two of season.

[FarmerShawn]

At market, a week or two jump on the season can mean a significant dollar advantage. I start some in soil blocks, which transplant extremely easily.
But here in northern Vermont, if it weren't for market considerations, planting out around June 1 works just fine, and produces plenty of beans for home use and preservation.