Bean seeds not sprouting

I am having my green beans to sprout. I have planted them 2 times and still not popping. The are new seeds from a name brand company this year. I planted them in new top soil. I had the same problem last year, that’s why I put in new top soil.

Brandy Gunderson
Wyoming, Michigan

Usually when beans fail to come up they have either been too cold, too wet or too dry. Or, a critter might be helping itself to your seeds. To check, dig in your row with your fingers to find your seeds. If they have rotted, you won’t find nice beans but mushy ones. If you find nothing, look for little dips in the dirt, indicating that they’ve been dug up and eaten/carried away. In warm soil that is kept nicely moist but not soggy wet, your beans should pop up within 10 days. — Jackie

Re-canning black olives

I have checked your blog/articles for directions for re-canning black olives. In one article it gives a time of 60 min., in the other 90 min. for pints and half pints. Which is correct? I love your books, use them all the time, never dared to can meat until I read your articles and books.

Thanks for all your wonderful information. I finally was able to subscribe to BHM — just love it. Even though I’m a city dweller, I have a large garden and try to “homestead” in any way I can.

Rae Pelletier
Salem, Missouri

Sixty minutes is the recommended time for processing olives in pints and half pints. Sorry for the mistake.

I’m glad you like my books and are now canning meat. It’s so easy and SO handy! — Jackie

7 COMMENTS

  1. Forgot to mention that if you plant early in cold, wet soil, you will probably have better germination if you don’t soak your seeds as you would when planting in a warm soil. Soaking often causes the seeds to rot when the soil is cold and wet. I’ve planted as early as March with no soaking but the ground was in the sun.

  3. Zelda,

    We plant Providers every year too, as they are our good old dependable beans. But even with them, some years I get too antsy and plant too early and have failures so I just plant again later (like I should have done in the first place!)

  4. As Jackie said, cold and wet are not good for bean germination. There are two varieties that will germinate and produce in colder, short season climates and if you aren’t using them, give them a try. Contender has been around since the 1940s and is classified as an heirloom open pollinated variety. Not only does it germinate well in cold, wet soils, but it produces a crop in less than 60 days. The other variety that germinates well in cold wet soils is Provider, which is also open pollinated. They are both bush beans. I have to plant these two varieties to get a crop at all where I live and they are dependable, heavy producers. Both freeze well. I don’t can, so can’t speak to how well they can up. The one thing I’ve noticed year afer year is that I don’t get that distinctive Blue Lake taste from either variety, and I miss that. But where I live, Blue Lake is an almost total failure and a waste of time and money to plant if you want food.

  5. Most of my legumes had to be replanted several times, I blame the goofy weather we’re having this year.

  6. I’ve had trouble with green beans not coming up very well too, I am fairly certain it has been due to too wet soil. I tilled out the first planting due to such poor germination… in the second perhaps 50 percent of the seeds came up and are looking fine, but I think I will try a third planting just any day now since we have had a spell of drier weather, and the soil is nicely warmed. The wet cool weather seemed to be fine with the cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower plants. I want to plant a bigger crop of these for the fall harvest. Happy homesteading y’all. Rick

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