I'm curious about whether or not soaking beans before planting is a good idea. I recently soaked some beans for about four hours, but my germination rate was only around 60%. Then I stumbled upon a blog that warned against soaking beans, saying it can lead to them rotting. Isn't soaking beans a common practice? What's everyone's take on this?
3 Answers
I don't soak beans either. I always plant them dry and have gotten decent results.
I think it really depends on where you are. I live in a semiarid area, so I don’t have a huge risk of seeds rotting if I don’t overwater. I’m more concerned about them drying out. I might try soaking if I lived somewhere with heavy rainfall though.
I didn't soak my pinto beans, and I got a 100% germination rate! Seems like not soaking might be the way to go for some types. Have you ever gotten that high a rate before?
Interesting. I've never had 100% germination with beans, maybe this is why.