Should I start Beans and Cucumbers Indoors?

[The Mad Hatter]

How many of you guys start the beans and cucumbers indoors? I as thinking of doing this but I am unsure if I really need to or not. What do you guys suggest?

T.M.H.

[nosta]

I direct seed both here in South Carolina. Plan to get mine in the ground April 22-23.

[rainbowgardener]

Agree. Beans I would direct seed outdoors, after soaking the seed overnight.

I don't grow cucumbers, because I'm not fond of them, but I grow squash which are in the same family. I start them indoors for the little head start, but you really don't need to. They are fast to germinate and grow.

[applestar]

Bean seed grows a thick long root upon germination that is brittle and the root and hypocotyl are easy to snap and break (think soybean sprouts). both beans and cucumbers with early maturing varieties available, IMO, are more trouble than it's worth to start indoors ahead of time.

You can soak the seeds overnight before sowing them in the ground to encourage early germination, and be sure to inoculate the beans with peas/beans rhizobium inoculant. But most importantly, wait until the ground has warmed up.

[DoubleDogFarm]

Cuke transplants are actually sold here in Texas (which makes me giggle when I see them), so someone thinks that starting and transplanting is a good idea.

Yep! I giggle all the way to the bank.

Not beans
Eric

[The Mad Hatter]

Thanks for the advice guys. Looks like I will direct sow. To bad its raining today.

T.M.H.

[Tonythegardener]

You lot are lucky that you can plant these seeds in the soil. If I were to do this, I would have to wait until the end of May before it would be safe to plant into the ground and even then there would be poor germination. I start off all my beans, cucumbers, pumpkins, squashes, tomatoes and courgettes in pots inside a greenhouse. I sowed all of these yesterday and will not be planting out until the middle of May.

Only then will the soil be warm enough and the threat of frost gone for the year.

[wisconsingal]

I have not had good luck transplanting cucumbers here in Southeastern Wisconsin.

I prefer to direct seed both beans and cukes.

[gixxerific]

I am with the direct seed camp on both.

It is known that vining crops don't do well with transplanting. And when thinking vining crops think about how fast they grow. Just direct seed and they will be huge in no time.

Kinda like a puppy.

Sorry I couldn't resist
[img]https://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj185/gixxerific/Lucy/DSC05106.jpg[/img]

[applestar]

Awww.... there is a Japanese celebration of snow song -- part of a verse roughly translated:
"... Snow is falling, sleet is falling,
Falling, piling, still not stopping.
Dogs dash around the yard,
Joyfully excited,
Cats curl up near the
Hearth and drift to nod.".

[jal_ut]

I direct seed both. The beans about mid May and the cukes June 1. Cucumbers like the ground and weather to be warm.

[malkore]

Thanks for the advice guys. Looks like I will direct sow. To bad its raining today.

T.M.H.

Here in Lincoln the 'safe' planting day to avoid a late frost is Mother's Day weekend.
Its not quite time to plant the warmer weather crops like cukes.

Beans and peas maybe... and lettuce would already be in the ground.

My weekend's gonna be busy putting in the garden fence, a flower bed...I'm sore just thinking about it.

[soil]

I do both, I start some early and I plant them outside. sometimes the birds get the direct sowed ones just as they come up and I have replacements. plus lots of extras for planting wherever a bean will climb.

[garden5]

I've never grown either indoors. However, I have pre-sprouted the bean seeds by keeping them in a cup and rinsing them morning and night with water. The cup is kept upside-down on a paper towel with the beans in it until they sprout. This pretty much the same way Jal does peas.

Soil, have you seen any difference between the started seeds and the planted ones?

[stella1751]

I'll be starting cucumbers, melons, and pumpkins inside this year. You can direct seed cucumbers in our climates, Mad Hatter. I generally do. However, you can increase your yield in the event of an early frost, say September 1, which has happened in the past, if you start them inside.

While we're on the subject, those of you who start them indoors, when do you start them? I'm thinking six weeks early. Does that sound right?

[digitS']

. . . I don't grow cucumbers, because I'm not fond of them, but I grow squash which are in the same family. I start them indoors for the little head start, but you really don't need to. They are fast to germinate and grow.

. . . but, that "little head start" helps, a little.

Some years, I have trouble getting winter squash to adequately mature so I began to always set them out as started plants. I will even do that with some late-planted summer squash that can be popped in to the garden just when space is available. I even started the cukes last year.

Stella, the Cucurbits only benefit from 4 weeks or maybe even a day or 2 less, indoors. And, being careful with them is important. I probably only gain about 2 weeks to the growing season.

Beans? I am usually in no hurry to plant beans. They are a great 2nd crop well into July, when some other veggies can't even get started because of the heat or shortness of the remaining season. Anyway, what that means is that I've got an awful lot of beans for the kitchen during the 2nd half of the season!

Steve

[The Mad Hatter]

Thank you so very much for the replies. I will be getting the crop netting up sometime today and may very well stick some seed into the dirt. The package says to plant every two weeks and I want alot of beans for canning.

Thanks again everyone!

T.M.H.

[DoubleDogFarm]

Earlier I said "Not Beans" I was talking about starts for sale.

I have started and probably will again this year, beans in gutters.

Peas.
[img]https://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h300/eric_wa/Greenhouse%20Photos/DSC03257.jpg[/img]
Beans.
[img]https://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h300/eric_wa/Greenhouse%20Photos/DSC02114.jpg[/img]

Squash, Cuccumbers and pumpkins are started in 4" pots. They are sold at the 3rd or 4th week.

Eric