Trouble drying beans

[Robert_Brenchley]

I'm having real trouble drying my beans this year, thanks to the wet weather. Pods are rotting, and beans are doing the same. Some are sprouting. The wife is complaining about the smell, and washing the seeds in bleach doesn't help much. Anyone else having trouble?

[Robert_Brenchley]

[squeezyjohn]

I've been on the road with work for the past 3 weeks but left my beans suspended on chicken wire under the eaves of my shed before heading off hoping the ventilation and cover would do the job.

I'm worrying now and will let you know how they have faired once I check them at the beginning of next week.

[pumkinlover]

I'm no expert and was drying them in the conservatory. They were going fusty so they are now in the living room, and seem to be ok.
It seems a bit of a contrast to being outside.
I think the weather turning wet before they were picked did not help.

[galina]

I'm no expert and was drying them in the conservatory. They were going fusty so they are now in the living room, and seem to be ok.
It seems a bit of a contrast to being outside.
I think the weather turning wet before they were picked did not help.

I think you are right there, pumpkinlover, if they had started drying outside, then we got rainy weather, they will start sprouting in their pods.  I had a few sprouters, but my last beans for seed were taken in weeks ago and dried indoors.  Drying outdoors now doesn't really work, too cold for one and definitely too wet.

All I can suggest Robert, is to emergency ripen the lot.  Indoors on paper, beans laid out singly, in the warmth of the living room.  If the pods are rotting, all you can do is take out the beans quickly and dry the individual beans.  Beware of any heavy condensation forming on windows during the night, behind heavy curtains though, if you put them on window sills.  Ditch rotting pods altogether which should help with the smell too.  Washing in bleach should not be necessary and only adds to the moisture.  Maybe pod them and put them on paper on a tray and into the airing cupboard for a day to start with.  If the seeds are full size, they can be emergency ripened and should at least be viable, even if they look less plump than normal after drying.  Only sound pods will help mature the beans inside.  If you still have sound pods, turn them over every day.  Hope you get a seed harvest there.



You might be ok John, depends how dry they were when they went on the wire rack and whether they were single layer or touching.

[aj]

Mine are all in the airing cupboard and being depodded each week by my students. 

[Robert_Brenchley]

That's what I'm doing, Galina. Mostly it's working. Cosse Violette are a disaster; I won't save more than about a quarter of what I started with. I had hoped to have enough to offer round the site, but I'll have to keep them for myself this year. The pods were in a worse state than the others, which probably explains it. Trail of Tears seem to be OK, but I still need to spread them out and sort out the mouldy ones. Others remain to be seen. Problem is the state of my health; I haven't been down to the plot much as I can't do anything when I get there, so things are creeping up on me. I'm a lot better than I was, but it's going to be another couple of months at least before I can contemplate actual work there.

[manicscousers]

Some of ours went mouldy but they were for eating, not re-sowing but we had loads soI put lots in the freezer, fresh instead of drying them. Get well soon, Robert, the plot will be there when you're better 

[squeezyjohn]

Really sorry to hear about your health issues Robert.  Hope everything is on the upward trend 

My outside drying technique hasn't worked as fast as I had hoped - but the humidity has been unusually high for autumn the past few weeks and some gigandes pods are bizarrely still green.  But the bonus is that the wicking action of the wind has stopped any mould growth and hopefully if we do get any nice dry cold weather it will finish them off.

My system is simply a shed with long extra eaves built in to the design - and a basket fashioned from chicken wire just underneath them which keeps most of the rain off but allows the wind to whistle through nicely.  I reckon that some kind of temporary lean-to would do the same job though.

[pumkinlover]

Mine are all in the airing cupboard and being depodded each week by my students. 

How big is your airing cupboard?

[Robert_Brenchley]

I seem to be getting on top of things now. I've rescued plenty of French beans, but the runners are in a worse state as they turn out to be seriously vulnerable to damp. The worst that could happen is that I might lose a couple of varieties, which is annoying but no more than that.

[galina]

Thanks for the progress report Robert.  Hope you are stronger now and on the up health wise.  Probably not good to leave seeds in the airing cupboard for any length of time beyond a few days, because heat is one of the factors that shortens seed life.  Seeds need to be stored cool and dry.  But to halt rotting and assist initial drying definitely.  Glad you are winning here.

[Robert_Brenchley]

We don't have a functioning airing cupboard; I'm using what was the space for the hot water tank till they took it out, so there's space to lay the beans out, but no heat. French beans survive the process better; I lost a lot, but many of them weren't mature to start with. My biggest problem is runner beans I extracted from damp but not rotten pods. The need more careful treatment than I realised. As long as I have a dozen or so of each one that germinate next year, that's all I'm really worried about.

My back's improving slowly, thanks, but I'm still suffering quite badly from CFS at the moment, so I don't have much energy for anything.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I've lost the entire crop of runner bean seed, I've never seen anything like it. I went to the allotment earlier and checked the few beans left on the plants; they were rotten as well.

[Digeroo]

I have had success drying on the radiator in previous years, but if the beans have been frosted I think they rot pretty quickly.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Maybe I didn't get them quick enough, then, but we haven't had any noticeable frost, and the French beans weren't so bad. Some rotted, but those were the ones from rotten pods.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I can't rule out the possibility that some may have been affected by frost, but it's very hard to believe they all were. Some were in a mini greenhouse, and we haven't had a severe frost. I've ended up with a couple of crossed (deliberately) Black Pod, half a dozen Mrs Cannell's Black, and a dozen Black Magic. That's if they germinate. Not good, when I set out to save lots, but never mind. If I have to start again, I'm only losing one season.