You can plant seeds out of fresh pods of beans.

11 years ago

I think I might have rediscovered something. Few days ago, I picked some beans out of the garden to cook. One of them was not so tender but was not fibrous and not something that could not be put in the cooking pot. I shelled it to see how the seeds were. The seeds were not ripe, they could still be squished easily between fingers. If I plant it, will it germinate? Well, it did. It germinated just fine, in fact faster than a normal seed.

I have tried this before with other seeds like tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons but only from ripe the fruit.

Conclusion: If you see something in the produce section that you like, you can just plant the seeds from it (ripe or not), it might germinate into a nice looking plant.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

pnbrown
11 years ago
Yes, in some cases there will be germination. However, the offspring of typical commercial hybrids revert to ancestral strains which may or may not prove well-adapted to one's conditions.
digdirt2
11 years ago
Conclusion: If you see something in the produce section that you like, you can just plant the seeds from it (ripe or not), it might germinate into a nice looking plant.

Not a new concept and not a very successful one in many cases. First because as already mentioned they are most likely hybrids since most commercially grown vegetables are. So the seeds may be sterile, revert to parent stock, may produce an inedible crossed hybrid, or germinate and grow a plant of some sort but never produce fruit so a waste of time.

Second, seed maturity is what determines whether is will sprout or not and most commercially sold produce is harvested while still immature for shipping. Some seeds also require they be dried first, other require a period of cold stratification before they will germinate, and many require specific soil temps for germination.

So it's best not to draw such a broad conclusion as there are too many variables involved.

Dave
Related Discussions
WANTED: Fresh Castor Bean Seed Wanted
Q
Comments (4)
Hi grancru, Welcome to The Seed Exhange. Please see the link below, as you have not enabled your Member Page email link, thus no one can contact you. Sue Here is a link that might be useful: sticky: please read before posting! **required** This post was edited by chemocurl on Fri, Mar 22, 13 at 23:38
...See More
saving seed of royalty purple pod beans
Q
Comments (3)
I tried to do the same thing with Royalty purple bush beans a couple of years ago. They just kept hanging on, leathery, and I finally gave up. Like many bush beans, I think they have been selected so intensely for their holding power that they take forever to make seeds. I decided a packet of fresh seeds was a very good deal.
...See More
Is this a Erythrina herbacea, Coral Bean Seed Pod?
Q
Comments (3)
Wow, I've never seen one of those - looks like a work of art! I just got one of these plants this year; I'm looking forward to seeing it flower (and fruit).
...See More
Tree and its seed pod??? Can you identify
Q
Comments (8)
Honey Locust is a rather dangerous tree to have around. The common ones grow thorns up to a foot long, which are perhaps the nastiest thorns of any North American tree. I have been told that some of the African Acacias are worse, but don't know that for a fact. Not something I'd care to have on my property. The so-called Moraine locust is a thornless form, so just hope you have that variety. George
...See More
zeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin
11 years ago
Snap beans from the grocery will almost never be mature enough to have viable seed. And even in the best case scenario (which would be worst case for the grocer, having over-ripe beans) you won't get enough plants to make it worthwhile. What you will mostly get is failure. You are far better off just purchasing bean seed which will germinate reliably, rather than purchasing produce.

The good news is that if the immature bean seed does grow, you will get plants that are true-to-type with with what you originally purchased. While hybrids are quite common in many garden vegetables, there are no hybrid beans... and likely never will be. It is too impractical to produce hybrid bean seed, both because of the flower structure, and because for each flower pollinated, you get 10 seeds at best. Contrast that with a tomato or pepper, where a single hand-pollinated flower can yield hundreds of seeds. While some beans may start out as crosses during the breeding process, the cross will be stabilized into an open pollinated variety before it is released commercially.
Patrick Meeks
6 years ago
ju1234,

Good for you, all these comments seem like haters, whats the harm in trying!? Worst case you have a plant that may not produce perfect legumes, but you may still get a lovely vine from it, or you may just end up with a pot of soil. You've nothing to lose so please don't be put off by pessimist critics!

Happy growing ju1234!