On the first of March I put 12 green bean seeds into some potting mix. Fifteen days later it looks like 8 or 9 of them are going to eventually make it into my garden. I’m happy things are off to a good start.
And to think, we’re still more than eight weeks away from the last frost. Hold on!
Did I start the green beans too early?
On the first of the month, I decided it was as good a time as any to plant some seeds. I had to start somewhere, right? This whole thing is a learning experience so might as well begin the process.
Using an empty cardboard egg container that originally held 30 eggs, I planted 12 green bean seeds and 13 bell pepper seeds into some random potting mix we had left over from the previous summer.
From time to time my wife likes to pretty the yard up by growing flowers. I’m not sure if this potting mix will work on vegetable plants but it’s worth a shot.
I set the egg carton on a tin foil tray we bought from the dollar store at some point over the past few years. Then I put some soil in each section and place a single seed per section. I covered them with a bit more soil and gave each seed a tiny bit of water (I filled the cap of a typical water bottle and poured that over each section).
Based on what I’ve been learning from gardening posts and videos, seeds don’t need to be watered every day. The soil simply cannot be allowed to become too dry.
So, I was giving the green beans (and bell peppers) a bit of water every 2nd day. Aside from noticing one of the seeds had become “fat” nothing else seemed to be happening until the 8th day.
That’s when I saw a single little green stem starting to push up.
By the ninth day I could visibly see a lot of “activity” happening with the green beans. On the next day – the tenth – that’s when the first plant actually lifted a little pile of dirt to push up.
Again I continue to water every two days. Slightly more than a bottle cap full though.
I never thought that watching seeds grow into plants is something I would find interesting but, yeah, I guess I do. It’s fascinating to me that for days nothing appears to be happening and then everything starts to happen at once.
By the 14th day, I can see at least 10 little plants growing – at least on the green bean side of the cardboard egg container. The bell peppers aren’t doing anything…
Still watering every two days.
Check this out!
I woke up in the morning of the fifteenth day to see 5 of the green beans standing upright – with a few more trying to stretch up further.
Everything looks pretty good. One little plant hasn’t changed much in the last two days, so I might lose that one.
I’m no farmer but seeing this makes me feel good.
So far so good! I’ve learned a few things already.
As far as green beans are concerned:
1 – potting mix work fine
2 – it takes about 8 days for the seeds to germinate
3 – giving the plants a little water every 2 days works (just don’t let the soil become too dry)
4 – by day 15 the plants are nearly ready to be transplanted into larger containers
Considering how fast the green beans are growing I’m wondering whether or not I started them off too early. The last frost in my area is not until at least mid May. At the time of this writing, that’s more than 8 weeks away.
Will I need to transplant them more than once before being able t put them out in the garden?
Not sure. I guess it’s something else that I’m going to be learning this year.
I intend on providing an update after I have transplanted the green beans into larger containers. Stay tuned for that!
Anyway, that’s all I have for you today. Hopefully this information will be helpful to someone out there.
As far as the bell peppers are concerned…. That learning experience will need its own post.
