pole beans

[Bob S]

Greetings. My name is Bob and I need some advise. The soil in my yard is awful (hard, lots of rocks, dry etc...) so I grow everything in pots. I was given some pole bean seeds and I put then in a 5 gallon bucket with plenty of holes for drainage and they have sprouted but have not grown in over 2 weeks. I thought that rather than having the vines climb up a pole, I'd have them grow down over the edge of my deck that is about 20' off the ground. They simply won't grow any larger. They're not larger than 1/32" tall. Anyone have any ideas. Thanks in advance.

Bob

[hendi_alex]

I'm not sure what sprouted but certainly not the pole beans. When my beans sprout, they start out two or three inches tall, and develop large leaves very quickly. Is there a chance that your beans failed to germinate, and something else has sprung up from the soil?

[Bob S]

It's funny but the sprouts look as though they're miniature versions of what they should be. I've grown them many times in my life. I very much doubt that they're anything but my beans. It's quite puzzling. Thank you for your reply.

Bob

[hendi_alex]

It may be interesting to dig one up and inspect it. I wonder if somehow most of the bean rotted but the cotyledon somehow survived to germinate. Without the food store of the bean, perhaps the sprout would be small, weak, and take extra time to grow. Whatever the cause, when my beans don't germinate well, I just quickly put a replacement in the spot, as the beans generally germinate and grow very quickly.

[Bob S]

It may be interesting to dig one up and inspect it. I wonder if somehow most of the bean rotted but the cotyledon somehow survived to germinate. Without the food store of the bean, perhaps the sprout would be small, weak, and take extra time to grow. Whatever the cause, when my beans don't germinate well, I just quickly put a replacement in the spot, as the beans generally germinate and grow very quickly.

That's exactly what I was thinking. I'll give it just a little more time and then dig one up. Thanks again.

Bob

[Bob S]

Alex, I couldn't wait so I dug up the sprouts I assumed were beans and you were correct, they were not. I then dug further and none of my seeds were sprouting. A bad batch of seeds perhaps? Anyway, thanks for your help.

Regards,

Bob

[garden5]

Perhaps your soil in the bucket was not well draining and the beans rotted?

What do you have in the buckets?

[Bob S]

Perhaps your soil in the bucket was not well draining and the beans rotted?

What do you have in the buckets?

Just some good top soil. I just spoke to 2 friends that I'd given some of the seeds to. Theirs are not sprouting either. Bad seeds I guess.