Do I need to soak beans before planting in open ground

Beans have long been prized for their rich protein content. Due to its nutritional value, this product even received the name "medical meat". This vegetable, however, is able to replace any type of meat, therefore, during the period of fasting or when prescribing diets, it practically has no equal.

Beans are striking in their richness of varieties and varieties. Some are grown to form grains to be eaten only. Others are cultivated for pods with delicate green seeds. They are also called vegetables. This species has more varieties than cereal, and most of them are capable of growing without support. The main charm is that it ripens much faster, which means that more than one harvest can be obtained per season.

Beans are a fairly popular plant in any garden. It has many useful properties and is unpretentious to grow. With proper care and proper planting, you can get a lot of grains, even from a small area. The first thing to do is to prepare the planting material.

Expiry date of beans for planting

Beans for planting

When purchasing seed material in the market or in a store, you need to ask the seller in what conditions the beans were stored, and how long they lay on the counter.

Later, you yourself must adhere to the basic storage rules:

1. Air humidity should not be more than 50%;
2. The temperature is at around - + 10 degrees.

The refrigerator is ideal.

If the grains were stored correctly, they will have signs that must be checked:

• flowability;
• lack of any plaque or stains;
• smooth, clean surface without foreign particles;
• uniform grain size.

Such seeds can be safely taken. They will be suitable for cooking for 6 years from the date of collection. But, if you plan to plant them, then it is better to sell the grains within 2 years. Moreover, to be sure of their keeping quality, it is better to play it safe and carry out additional processing.

The fact is that the culture is susceptible to attack by the bean weevil. This is a small bug that penetrates the grains even at the stage of ripening. On a hot day, one bean can be populated by 20 to 30 larvae. As a result, the product becomes unusable.

These parasites love heat and cannot stand cold at all. Therefore, to save legumes, simply place them in the freezer. But it's best to keep pests out.

One of the following options can help with this:

1. Pour the beans into cloth bags and add a clove of garlic or dill seeds to them. They secrete substances that repel grain beetles;
2. With the same additives, beans will be perfectly preserved in a dark, cool place, for example, in a pantry;
3. Reliable protection against bugs - cold. Therefore, it will not be superfluous to hold the beans for a while in the refrigerator;
4. You can put the grains in a glass jar and add some ash. If tightly closed with a metal lid, it can be stored at room temperature;
5. A slightly less reliable but effective method is to place the beans in a box with a thick layer of newspaper lining the bottom. It is believed that these insects are afraid of printing ink.

When all preventive measures are completed, you can start preparing the seeds for planting. Soaking is considered one of the most important points.

Why Soak Beans Before Planting

The main question that arises for all novice gardeners: is it necessary to soak beans before planting in open ground? The answer is almost always positive.

Experienced summer residents do not recommend leaving beans in water for a long time. So it can be spoiled. The best method is pre-germination in a humid environment. This approach will prevent the use of so-called blank beans and create optimal conditions for the grain to sprout.

The procedure is carried out as follows:

1. You need to take a flat colander and cover its bottom with a dense wet cloth;
2. Sort out and rinse the grains, put the first class beans in the prepared dishes in 3 layers;
3. Gently pour on top with clean water and cover with a thin cloth or 5-layer gauze;
4. You need to moisturize the beans all day. But this must be done carefully so that the water does not stagnate, otherwise the planting material will rot.

The first shoots will appear in a day, in extreme cases - in 2 days. But it is too early to plant them in the ground. You need to wait until they grow up to 3 cm. To know how long to wait, you need to study how the seeds of beans and peas germinate.

Then, when the weather is warm outside, you can sow the germinated grains into the ground to a depth of 5-6 cm.

Whether to soak green beans and asparagus seeds

To answer the question of whether it is necessary to soak asparagus beans before planting, you must first figure out which crop is called asparagus and which is called leguminous. These names are often mistaken for synonyms. This is not entirely correct. Every asparagus bean is a green bean, but not all green beans can be considered asparagus. It's worth working out the difference.

Black Eyed Peas

Green beans in another way are called common and are a member of the legume family. There are about 50 varieties of this plant, including bush and climbing, differing in germination and maturity. Also, the varieties are divided into shelling, decorative, semi-sugar and sugar. The latter are devoid of hard fibers and are very soft when unripe. They are appreciated for this quality and for their delicate taste. It is these beans that are called asparagus. At the moment, many hybrids of this culture are known, but they all have one thing in common: they have poorly expressed grains.

As for soaking the seeds before planting, many gardeners prefer not to do this with respect to asparagus crops. It is believed that this is how the seedlings appear more amicably. But you must definitely follow some rules. It is recommended to plant after May 20. If you do this earlier, the sprouts may freeze. It is necessary to prepare a narrow long bed. Arrange the grains on it in 2 rows. Every 10 cm, form furrows 5 cm deep and pour water into them. Then put the beans there and sprinkle with earth.

For other types of green beans, traditional soaking methods are best. Those. immersed in water for several hours or germinated on a wet cloth.

Green beans

Step-by-step instructions for soaking:

• If, nevertheless, a method was chosen to completely immerse the seeds in water, it is important to know how to correctly implement it. It is recommended to soak for no more than 15 hours. Otherwise, the beans will start to spoil. Although it is better to calculate the time based on the solution. For example, beans can be kept in melt water for about 12 hours, and in potassium permanganate - no more than 8 hours.
• After water, the swollen seeds are dipped in a boric acid solution to protect future sprouts from pests. This procedure is carried out no longer than 5 minutes.
• There are situations when it is not possible to pre-soak the grains. Then you can use the express method. Pour hot water (about 70 degrees) right before sowing and add a pinch of manganese. Then immediately sow the grains and water them with the remaining solution. So they will be more reliably protected from pests.

Further care

It may seem to an inexperienced summer resident that soaking and disinfection can solve all the problems that are possible when growing beans. But this is far from the case.

One of the most important requirements is the constant supply of a large amount of air to the roots of the plant. Therefore, the soil should be regularly loosened and irrigated. It is imperative to prevent crust formation after watering and rain. Plus, you need to carefully monitor so that there are no diseases. If you notice their appearance at an early stage, the culture will be easier to save.

Planting beans

Beans need pollination. Spraying the leaves and flowers of the vegetable with sweetened water will help make it more visible to insects.
Before flowering, the bean plant should be watered at 6 liters per square meter. When the pods begin to form, you will need 2 times more water. With irrigation, it is very important to know when to stop.

Excessive moisture will cause the beans to go into greens, reducing the number of pods. And the lack of water threatens to shatter the ovaries, which will also significantly reduce the yield.

According to the reviews of summer residents, beans do not require additional fertilizing, except for those that are introduced during sowing or remain from previous vegetables. With poor fruiting, wood ash or bird droppings can be added.

Whichever variety of beans is chosen, any variety of this culture is rich in vitamins and trace elements that help the body to maintain its tone. In addition, the substances contained in grains and vegetable pods are able to prevent serious diseases such as atherosclerosis, hypertension, diabetes. People prone to similar problems just need to include this product in their diet. The question of whether it is necessary to soak the beans before planting can be considered resolved. The main lesson to learn is that it is easier for grains to germinate through a softened shell.