How soon before you can plant outdoors?

Probably 10 days - maybe earlier....I've started hardening the tomatoes already. I'm leaning on the idea of letting them grow past the bean stage and maybe a foot high or so ? - last year birds went to town eating up the beans. Whatever did end up germinating, they had bean leaf salad. I'm trying to mitigate that this year by starting them inside.

I know I will be running out of root space sooner than the foot growth that I'm thinking....

Don't think that's going to work, even putting them out for the day and bring in at night isn't going to stop those roots from growing. Do you have a lot? If they were mine I'd start planting them in individual pots so when planting out you won't be disturbing their roots.

Indeed alot. Wasn't planning to put them out. Just leave them under the lights - figuring 10 day window - maybe 20. maybe with no beans in dirt and a big pair of leafs, the birds will be less attracted this year...

Oh boy . Do they grow quick. Or maybe it was the mychorozzzia that gave it a boost. I think we're only in day 3 ? I teased one out and th root is like 5-6 inches long. I guess they're going in dirt this weekend. Sowing inside would have been possible but I would have needed like 100 cups !

Bean transplants become root bound very quickly. The longest I ever let mine go before transplanting was about 28 days, and that was due to a long stretch of wet weather. They were pole beans, in 3" pots, and had already formed runners up to 12" long by the time they were transplanted. It took the plants a long time to recover, but they eventually did so, and went on to produce a heavy crop.

now that I'm not sowing these indoors, going to have to go back to my *plan a* and figure out bird mitigation. Heh, maybe sprinkling some cayenne pepper on these plants ;-0

Nets, wire netting or chicken wire. Only physical barriers will work effectively for birds.

All transplanted. Heh, it was ALOT more work transplanting them in the ground as opposed to just sowing seeds - dig a trench, lay beans, cover with soil. All in the all, sofar, all of them have not been nipped at with the birds.

Might need to borrow my 4 yrs old bird feeder - he might not be akin to sharing it though for the great cause ;-)

I tried starting some pole beans in 4" cowpots inside this year, left some in pairs 2 to a cowpot copying Bill Best's idea of planting in pairs. Seems to have gotten good results this year, growing well. Hard to time when to start since weather is variable but the beans seemed to do well as long as they were sprouted already in the pots. Pole limas seem to really benefit from the head start.

Any negatives from starting seeds like this? Will direct seeded outside be healthier in the long run? The potted seedlings seem to be healthier compared to often sickly looking direct seeded in the wet spring soil. What about production the season overall? The cost of the cowpots doesn't bother me but I suppose it might be a waste of time in the long run.

IMO direct seeded beans are healthier - when soil conditions are ideal. In my region, that is the "big if". Too often, Spring is too wet, and/or too cool, to promote good bean germination. That is certainly the case this year! After losing nearly all direct-seeded beans to flooding rains one year, I usually start some as transplants, either as backups, or when foul weather prevents direct seeding.

There are a lot of advantages to starting beans as transplants:

- Because temperature & moisture are better controlled indoors, bean germination is much better for old or weak seed. It is also good when starting with a small sample of seed, when every seed must count. I once planted a yardlong bean in the garden, and got zero germination... the same seed started in pots the following year, had about 60% germination.

- Transplants are also much more tolerant of cool wet soil than the seeds would be in the same conditions.

- As already noted earlier in this thread, transplants are also less vulnerable to loss from birds or insects.

- You also don't get the dead spots in the row that often occur when direct seeding beans.

- Transplants can extend the growing season, by starting earlier than the climate would otherwise allow. This is especially important when growing long-season beans (like limas) or when intending to save dry seed.

All of my beans are transplants this year, awaiting the long-overdue dry spell... which does not appear to be forthcoming. I may need to throw on boots & put the transplants in the mud. An even wetter start than last year, it appears that a lot of things just won't get planted. :-(

I hear you zeedman in regards to a wet start. My preferred bean area has only recently become walkable without sinking into the mud. It is still wet and cool, though. I've put very short rows of bean seeds in several other somewhat drier locations among other garden veggies. Germination was very spotty, but the ones that grew seem to be expanding into the empty spots in some cases. I'm trying to be glad that at least a few are growing. Others in the area are also reporting very low germination. I'm seriously thinking of taking a seed tray along on a trip this week and making a final try at germinating a few varieties I'd really like to have yet this year. Should be interesting if I do it... rather strange to be traveling hundreds of miles with a flat of seedlings in the back of the car along with the luggage.

I start all my beans in 3 inch peat pots under a very bright grow light system developed by Zeedman. I think plastic pots would work. If temperatures permit, I put the trays of pots outdoors as soon as they emerge.

My best luck with starting beans inside is sowing in toilet paper tubes. I fill a plastic dishpan with tubes and fill with potting soil, then sow one or two seeds per tube. Have tried it both ways, one seems like a waste of space, two a waste of seeds. Anyway when I plant out it is two plants per hole for pole/trellis and about 6" OC for bush. Be warned that crows love these seedlings and will pull up the whole TP tube to get at roots so have to protect until established. Last year after the crows wrecked one row of bush beans I replanted with direct seed and they caught up fine.

Birds (and occasionally squirrels) mostly go after the newly emerged seedlings, while the tender cotyledons are still attached. I usually transplant beans of all types when the first true leaf appears, at which point - with rabbits & deer fenced out - they are seldom bothered.

I start some indoors (usually the varieties where I have only 1 or 2 seeds), in 16-20 ounce plastic drinking cups, with slits/holes in the bottom for drainage. Indoor germination is usually 2-3 days earlier than outdoors. I transplant when the weather tells me its time.

I would buy some cheap netting, attach it to the top of your trellis(or support), then bring it down and peg it to the ground about 2 feet from the beans. It might be just enough to deter the birds, and you can remove it in a couple of weeks before it gets tangled up with vines.