Are my broadies going to make it?

[crazy_red]

I found nine broad beans of an unknown variety, in a packet labelled 'sow by 2005'

Ever the optimist, I duly put these on damp paper and waited...nine little broadies went to germinate....

1, just fell in half, 2 went fuzzy and fell in half, 3 started to sprout then went fuzzy and fell in half, 4 fell in half when I prodded it, and the other 5...all 5 of these sprouted big, juicy sprouts...from both ends this time...so I potted them all the way home into the modules!

I only watered them in very lightly, when i potted them up, cos I knew a freeze was forecast.....they've been sat for two days, waiting to go in the cold frame, on the same, light window-cill where I sprouted them...

They looked really perky, but today the tip of each top shoot that came out first, has started turning black from the top down....although most of the teeny, new top shoots look quite green and healthy....soooooo

Anyone any idea wassup?

If they were sickly cuttings or perennial plant seed, i'd give them the benefit of the doubt for the winter - but it seems a waste of time, as well as the little soil I have, trying to nurse veg, if they're not gonna produce well....

Red x

[Snadger]

I found nine broad beans of an unknown variety, in a packet labelled 'sow by 2005'

Ever the optimist, I duly put these on damp paper and waited...nine little broadies went to germinate....

1, just fell in half, 2 went fuzzy and fell in half, 3 started to sprout then went fuzzy and fell in half, 4 fell in half when I prodded it, and the other 5...all 5 of these sprouted big, juicy sprouts...from both ends this time...so I potted them all the way home into the modules!

I only watered them in very lightly, when i potted them up, cos I knew a freeze was forecast.....they've been sat for two days, waiting to go in the cold frame, on the same, light window-cill where I sprouted them...

They looked really perky, but today the tip of each top shoot that came out first, has started turning black from the top down....although most of the teeny, new top shoots look quite green and healthy....soooooo

Anyone any idea wassup?

If they were sickly cuttings or perennial plant seed, i'd give them the benefit of the doubt for the winter - but it seems a waste of time, as well as the little soil I have, trying to nurse veg, if they're not gonna produce well....

Red x

Sounds as if it's a tad too cold for em!

[crazy_red]

Sorry I meant to say they were still on the window-cill waiting, so probably not the cold, but thanks Snadger, i have had brown bits on shoots after frost with other plants

As the others went grey and fuzzy, could it be damping off, like you get with flower seedlings. Can an infection spread through wet/damp paper?

I've never grown veg before so I don't know what it looks like in beans, peas, etc.

[Two_Sheds]

I germinated a whole pack of fresh bean seed like this.
The quickest ones to germinate got potted up 2 weeks ago, the next quickest last week - and the tardy ones are still sitting there on the windowsill. Some of them sprouted, but the sprout turned black, so I composted them.

They aren't cold, but they aren't healthy either.

[Snadger]

I spray with Cheshunt Compound to counteract damping of!