Duff beans.

[bario1]

Hi All,

I've been getting a lot of French beans with 'no heads' this year - probably about 30% - anyone else been seeing this, or do I just have a dodgy pack/variety? These will not change now, they just sit there looking like that indefinitely. They're either Delinel or Aquilon, can't remember - in fact they might be a mix of both (I know, that doesn't help!)

[Bigmallly]

I would lean towards pests rather than dodgy seed.

[Jonnyt]

Snail or Slug for my money

[bario1]

Slugs eating the growing tip? Would they really be that selective? The other plants are untouched...

[Bigmallly]

Slugs, Snails, Spiders, Mice....................I don't think dodgy seeds would have germinated.

[muddled]

yeah...slugs do that!

Had it several times, slimies (actually I think its small snails) eat tender young leaves but leave the stalks and the bigger leaves. This generally happens in a tray of same type plants.
In my case, I'm pretty sure the snail came via the greenhouse window pane to one leaf that was touching it and then mucnched their way across, selectively taking the growing tips.

Happened several times before I found three, pea sized snails in the same tray and realised what was going on.
Cute but deadly them little dinky ones!

[bario1]

I'll check all round the tray and under the pots, Muddled - do you mean the little 'flat' snails?

[muddled]

No, I mean baby ordinary snails (I think)...normal looking but little!

[Snoop Puss]

Snails did just that to mine.

[hamamelis]

I'm pretty sure it can be the seed- I had an entire batch of beans that did that once, sowed over 20, and every single one had no growing tip.

They were germinating on my bedroom windowsill. Never had any pest damage to any other plant in there.

[bario1]

Maybe I'll set some more off as an experiment in completely pest free conditions... my gut still says this is some kind of mutation despite my head agreeing with (almost) everyone here that it woz pests wot did it.