Help!…. French beans gone mad

[Nicos]

These were sown 4 days ago in a propagateur indoors and this is what we came back to!
The tallest ones are almost 6 ins high- can I repot them deeper or will they rot? Clearly they will be too flimsy to plant out like this once they get their first pair of leaves.

[Plot70]

You will need to put lemonade bottles over them in there final planting position.
I kill the heat as soon as they chit to keep the first true leaves lower to the soil.
This year is a bad slug year.

[Snoop Puss]

You look like you're growing flamingos there, Nicos.

On a more serious note, not sure what I'd do. Probably ditch the very tall ones and start a few more off to replace them. Clearly your beans are keen to grow.

[ameno]

IMine often end up like that. I just let them support each other while in pots, then plant them nice and deep when I plant out.

[Bren In Pots]

I’d re-pot the tallest ones as deep as you can, in loo rolls maybe if you don’t have tall pots, the rest don’t look to bad.

[Nicos]

You will need to put lemonade bottles over them in there final position
I kill the heat as soon as they chit to keep the first true leaves lower to the soil.

OK - thanks. I hardly expected them to chit and grow that tall so quickly ! Nothing was showing 24 hrs after sowing….then we were away for 50 hrs…and came back to those! Next time I’ll turn the darned thing off!

So, those of you who have suggested planting the very tall ones deep- how deep?…to within 1 cm of the bean? No harm in trying!
I’ll plant the more leggy ones in a cluster with the more normal height ones for support.

Thanks peeps

[ameno]

I've planted them almost to the seed leaves before, which is above the bean
bean. Doesn't seem to do them any harm.

[Nicos]

Great - thanks for that reassurance ameno

[ameno]

The one thing to you do need to do is be careful when transporting them and when planting them out, as the stem can be quite brittle and snaps easily.
if it snaps above the first leaves then it should still grow back from buds in the leaf axils, but if it snaps below the leaves then it will never grow back and will just die.

[Vince G]

WIll be sowing all beans plus chick peas in rows where they are to grow this weekend. Done that last couple of years, works much better for me that transplanting, always lose a lot however much they are hardened off.

[peacegarden2024]

seems like a light intensity issue

[Nicos]

Following advice on here - planting deep - my French beans are doing well! I’ll post a piccie soon. Thanks peeps