I remember in elementary school sprouting beans from a dried bean bag the teacher brought in so I am sure they would sprout. The question would be are they open pollinated and what type of beans would you get from them?

I think you should go for it! What do you have to lose, really? :)

Amy

I found a website listed on the bag & traced that until I found an email address. I sent them my question & got a kind reply that they don't treat the beans in any way that would render them inviable. They mentioned that the split peas probably wouldn't grow (as they are ... after all ... split). lol All along, even tho I'm sure split peas make a good addition to the soup, I was also aware they are not beans...ditto the lentils. But to their credit, they didn't count them amongst the 15 varieties of beans included.

No doubt they are open pollinated, but if I wanted to grow them, I wouldn't be concerned about maintaining the "purity of the strain".

It would be kind of fun to see what came up! Sort of like a wildflower mix. I think I'll pass on it though...there might be staking issues.

Yeah Dotty, if I were willing to give up the space, I'd try 5-6 of each bean along a length of wire fencing just to watch what develops. I would first line up 1 of each bean on a sheet of paper & photograph them - then I would plant them in the same order because I'm unable to ID them all. However, I want the space for either scarlet runner beans or morning glories...either of them for my hummingbirds.

Patrick