Broad Beans

[JennieAtkinson]

I KNOW that to some of you this will be a really daft question, but ...

when you plant broad beans, I assume they go vertical, but which end down, the rounded end or the end with the black line ? Do the roots come out of the black line bit or the shoots. Decided to only plant a few in case I have got it wrong.

I'll tell you which way I planted them if I have got it right !

[smallblueplanet]

Sorry Jennie don't know.....can I ask is it to late to start Broadbeans now?

[wolf320f]

hello jennie,
ive planted both ways up and all have germinated, took about two weeks in an unheated greenhouse. whereas this latest warm weekend took my greenhouse temperature up to the high thirties and was enough to start a late sowing within a week. if you have a heated propogator try that or a very warm sunny window sill. ive got 4 varieties on the go all a sucess so far. once they have sprouted keep them moist and they grow pretty fast.

regards
phil..

[nick the grief]

I think they shoot from the scar Jennie. I always put them in on end any way so I guess they sort themselves out

Welcome to the vine Phil. I hope you enjoy your stay

[JennieAtkinson]

I've got them the right way up then. Phew. The scar .... not "the black bit" - I'm learning.

Thanks Phil for the tips - welcome to the grapevine too. Am I too late for sowing broad beans?

[dni_dave]

Biology

Correct me if I'm wrong but....

I think there are 2 chemicals (maybe enzymes) in plants that affect which direction they grow.

For the roots it's as follows
The chemical is pulled to the bottom of any roots by gravity. It then alters the growth of the root if it has grown horizontally (or in any direction) and slows down the growth on that side so that the root grows quicker on the top side and thus starts to point down.

For shoots its the other way....
The chemical is pulled to the low side and stimulates growth in that side and thus the shoot starts to bend upwards.

I remember at school growing a seed (can't remember which it was but it sprouted reasonably quickly) on a very slowly rotating disc (maybe a single RPM per day or so!!). The result was that it grew in a spiral as the chemicals were always being pulled to the low side and stimulating/slowing growth as it turned.

You can try this at home with a quickly shooting seed. Grow it as normal and when it's a few inches high tip it over (keep the soil in) and watch it correct itself by growing vertically again.

Look at any old trees that have tilted slightly when they were younger - they all still point upwards now!!!!

It doesn't matter which way you plant. Mother nature compensates as seeds drop in any direction in the wild.

[smallblueplanet]

.....Am I too late for sowing broad beans?

I think I've the answer to my/your question - it depends which type of broadbean, roughly some have to be sown autumn/winter and some can be sown in Spring.

I think I might get some Witkeim Manita or Jubilee Hysor.

Broad bean info

[Lesley Jay]

No it's not too late to sow broad beans. You should be able to sow them up to the end of May.

[Shortie]

I remember at school growing a seed (can't remember which it was but it sprouted reasonably quickly) on a very slowly rotating disc (maybe a single RPM per day or so!!).

Hee hee... if it was too fast, you'd end up with 'seed missiles'

But back to the question, I agree with dni_dave there and have found that when I in-exeprtly planted my runner beans in a braod range of directions last year, they all ended up correcting themselves. When transplanting them, I could see the shoots were funny shapes where they'd grown round the side of the bean etc, but it gravity or whatever it was had corrected my dodgy planting technique

[SueA]

I don't think there is a 'right way up' either I just plant mine on end so that the seeds don't lie flat & rot. The root & shoot both come out of roughly the same place ( the scar) & find there way either up or down as required.

[saz]

Mmmmmm...just dropped mine in the hole! What a total amateur!

[nick the grief]

Not a total amateur Saz, an Incomplete novice

[JennieAtkinson]

Its funny how you sow the seeds one day and run in to check whether they have started growing the next.

Am I the only one that does this ?

[eskymo]

Nope - I planted loads of seeds in trays four days ago and I have gone out every morning without fail since then hoping to see green shoots appearing - how naive!! Mind you amazingly I was rewarded today with a dwarf runner bean poking it's head through the soil this morning - so it only took four days for that one to wake up and search for the sunshine - if only all plants germinted so quickly. I've been waiting for my tomatoes and courgettes for ages - I think my seeds are duff and too old as nothing is sprouting!

[Shortie]

Nope me too. I never expect any show for at least 4-5 days earliest, but it doesn't stop me checking!

That said I check my Mesembreanthumum [sp] seeds from the weekend and they've sprouted already... That one caught me by suprise (probaably mushroom spores growing instead!!)