Soak Beans
 

Do you recommend soaking bean before planing? If so how long?

Here in south Florida, I just plant them about 1 inch deep and cover them with worm castings. I've never soaked them before planting. I DO soak them over night before I cook them.:)

Hydrating the seed has to happen sometime, so soaking the seed before planting will get a jump on that. If you are soaking, probably 12-24 hours is good enough.
I sometimes even pre-sprout the seeds before planting especially if it's older seed that I'm not so sure of the viability and germination rate.

I soak my beans at least 3 days, making sure I see a 'tail' and then can plant them. I've had quite a few duds before and would rather not have to go back to fill in the dead spaces.

I never have and they usually come up fine once the soil is warm enough. I stick an old probe thermometer in the ground where my beans are going and wait until it's at least 50F.

i don't soak my beans.

i mighta read, that if you soak them, only do it for two to four hours,
something like that. i direct seeded some provider beans that came into
my possession from someone local that was no longer gardening. i have
a one pound package of seeds, several years old. i can't say every seed
came up, but a whole bunch did. old, old beans might be good to soak, and
keep moist till you see a tail, to speed things up, and eliminate the need to replant.
watch out for mold development on any beans you soak. mold may be good on cheese,
but not beans.



keith

I soak peas because they get planted in cool soil and germinating quicker helps to prevent rotting of the seed but it's warm when I plant beans so I never soak them. They germinate quickly.

[QUOTE=rxkeith;755515]i don't soak my beans.

i mighta read, that if you soak them, only do it for two to four hours,
something like that. i direct seeded some provider beans that came into
my possession from someone local that was no longer gardening. i have
a one pound package of seeds, several years old. i can't say every seed
came up, but a whole bunch did. old, old beans might be good to soak, and
keep moist till you see a tail, to speed things up, and eliminate the need to replant.
watch out for mold development on any beans you soak. mold may be good on cheese,
but not beans.
keith[/QUOTE]

When you see mold on a seed that's a sure indication that the seed is dead. Saprophytic fungi only consume dead organic matter, they are not pathogens so they will leave the viable living seeds alone.
I don't actually soak the seed in a bowl of water, you can hydrate the seed in a closed container or bag on a wet paper tower or bed of DE and just let the seed absorb the water like many of us may do with tomato, pepper or other seed to pre-sprout them. You need air and water to germinate a seed so this method works where just soaking a seed in water alone for days won't cause a seed to germinate. If there are any dead seed, they generally will have visible mold growing on them within a week and live seed that germinated right next to them with no mold.