Asparagus Beans Collect & Plant Seeds?

I'm having a terrible time with my asparagus beans. My seeds were old (probably 2014) and my germination rate was only about 20%, so now I'm stuck with just a few plants producing -- not enough to cook up -- so I let some go to seed. So, can I just pull out those seeds and plant them right now or do they have to dry and age some first?

I like this question. My asparagus/yard-long beans won't have seeds in time for a round two in my climate but you've got me wondering -- can I use my pea seeds from the spring-sown plants for a fall pea planting?

BeetlesPerSqFt wrote:I like this question. My asparagus/yard-long beans won't have seeds in time for a round two in my climate but you've got me wondering -- can I use my pea seeds from the spring-sown plants for a fall pea planting?

I say we go for it. What have we got to lose?

It worked for my daikon radishes and buckwheat.  Harvested them and then my grandson decided he wanted to plant something so he planted these and they sprouted.

BeetlesPerSqFt wrote:I like this question. My asparagus/yard-long beans won't have seeds in time for a round two in my climate but you've got me wondering -- can I use my pea seeds from the spring-sown plants for a fall pea planting?

I did this once with peas, might have even been last year, and it didn't work. They didn't even sprout. Best guess is they needed to dry first. But it may work in your area. Why don't you try a few just to see. That way you'll know forever more.

CC

CC is right.  They should be dried first, I think.  My radish seeds matured and dried on the vines then they were planted.

Not know ANYTHING about this particular subject, I agree with Country Naturals, and CC, maybe you could put them in a small paper bag, set it in the sun and dry them in 3 days (bring them in at night) and see if that helps. They dry on the vine or in the pod then drop then get covered and start, seems like it might work, just a BIIIIIIG guess on my part though. BTW, I would put them in a brown paper bag so I don't feed the local seed eating population of pretty little birds  This would be interesting to read about. Rock

Ok, I'll leave a few of my purple pea plants until they set pods and dry out - they are supposed to be soup peas rather than snow peas so I should be doing that anyhow. They are also bush rather than tall climbing peas so I can more readily squeeze them in without finding trellis space. I already have one marked as being a keeper because it's a little different. I'll plant some in a month(?)...time is flying! and save some for planting in the spring just in case things don't work out.

My peas were dried out in the pods on the plant - brown and rattling. I just took them right out of the pods and planted them. I wonder how long they would need to have stayed there for the seed to sprout? But, like Rock, I thought once they were rattling around in there they would shortly fall out and grow naturally in the wild. That's why I tried it. Maybe a bag over them and letting them fall naturally into the bag is the way to go, like Rock suggests. But the leftovers from the same batch group beautifully this year! I wonder if it's because they were refrigerated first?

I bet beans wouldn't need refrigeration.
CC

I let mine dry out then planted them directly back in the sfg. Now we'll just wait and see.

countrynaturals wrote:I let mine dry out then planted them directly back in the sfg. Now we'll just wait and see.

They're sprouting beautifully. 

An update: I put some of my dried-on-the-vine peas in a zip lock bag in the freezer for 3-4 days (dry, not wet). Next I wrapped them in a damp paper towel for a few days, until rootlets appeared. Almost all of them hatched. Then I sowed them. And now I have baby pea plants! So the freezer trick worked for me for using spring peas to plant fall peas.

I'm on the 3rd year of some of my original long bean plants/seeds.  Picked dried pods before they split and made sure the beans were completely dry before bagging up.  No refrigeration.  In the past,  I've done this with southern cowpeas as well.  And basil seeds which are hard to catch before they drop out of the little pods on the flower stem.  Also works with collard and kale pods.

FYI portulaca, a lovely heat tolerant, drought resistant flower, will drop seeds from the flower pods and come back up the next year.  I ripped up a lot of these tiny seedlings before I realized the little red threads coming up were flowers not weeds.  Found out when I got lazy and didn't weed an area one spring.  They needed the warmer temps to come up and before I had always dug the areas up before they had a chance.  Now I save one or 2 deck pots as a nursery and plant out all over the yard and hanging baskets

Kay

walshevak wrote:FYI portulaca, a lovely heat tolerant, drought resistant flower, will drop seeds from the flower pods and come back up the next year. Kay

Thank you for mentioning this flower. I just looked up this drought resistant flower. Perfect for the front color spot. This November, when I clean and amend the bed, should I just sprinkle the seeds and ruffle the soil lightly?

sanderson wrote:

walshevak wrote:FYI portulaca, a lovely heat tolerant, drought resistant flower, will drop seeds from the flower pods and come back up the next year. Kay

Thank you for mentioning this flower.  I just looked up this drought resistant flower.  Perfect for the front color spot.    This November, when I clean and amend the bed, should I just sprinkle the seeds and ruffle the soil lightly?

I want these, too. Sanderson, where will you get your seeds?
CC

CapeCoddess wrote:

sanderson wrote:

walshevak wrote:FYI portulaca, a lovely heat tolerant, drought resistant flower, will drop seeds from the flower pods and come back up the next year. Kay

Thank you for mentioning this flower.  I just looked up this drought resistant flower.  Perfect for the front color spot.    This November, when I clean and amend the bed, should I just sprinkle the seeds and ruffle the soil lightly?

I want these, too.  Sanderson, where will you get your seeds?
CC

I started with spring plants the first few years , but I know HD still has seed out and portulaca is an old standby.  The seed is very tiny.  Here is my old rose bed in Aug 2013.  The holes of the cinder block bed are filled with transplants from deck pots that reseeded.  I would just open the seed pods and let the seeds drop, so just a slight ruffle should do it. If I remember right the seed doesn't come up until after the soil warms up. 

Baker Creek, which I use for 90% of my seed needs. Territorial for New Zealand spinach. The rest from members, Renee's Seeds and Home Depot (like KY wonder beans).

walshevak wrote:I'm on the 3rd year of some of my original long bean plants/seeds.  Picked dried pods before they split and made sure the beans were completely dry before bagging up.  No refrigeration.  In the past,  I've done this with southern cowpeas as well.  And basil seeds which are hard to catch before they drop out of the little pods on the flower stem.  Also works with collard and kale pods.

FYI portulaca, a lovely heat tolerant, drought resistant flower, will drop seeds from the flower pods and come back up the next year.  I ripped up a lot of these tiny seedlings before I realized the little red threads coming up were flowers not weeds.  Found out when I got lazy and didn't weed an area one spring.  They needed the warmer temps to come up and before I had always dug the areas up before they had a chance.  Now I save one or 2 deck pots as a nursery and plant out all over the yard and hanging baskets

Kay

I'm glad to hear the long beans and cowpeas don't need refrigeration. I'm not sure the soup peas needed it, but CC didn't have success planting dried peas straight out, and I didn't want to try both methods (fridge'd and non-fridge'd) because... well, because I'm lazy. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I didn't want to risk having to replant the non-fridge'd ones, and lose a week. (Especially since I was already lazily planting these pretty late.)

I'm happy to see my golden purslane - also a portulaca species - is coming back up in the window box I grew it in last year. I hoped it would, but I wasn't sure. This year I plan to mark the box instead of bringing them all back out of the garage and waiting to see which window box grows purslane, and which can be planted with something else! 
The squares I seeded with non-fridge'd weedy purslane seeds finally came up, too.

My long beans finally have a few teeny tiny slender baby beans on them. They get the squares until first frost, but unless they suddenly yield a lot more, I think I'll set aside growing these again until I have more garden space. I know Pennsylvania isn't the greatest climate for them anyhow, but I wanted to see for myself.

New question: Can the seeds from asparagus (long) beans be cooked and eaten like other dried beans (cowpeas, limas, etc.)?

countrynaturals wrote:New question: Can the seeds from asparagus (long) beans be cooked and eaten like other dried beans (cowpeas, limas, etc.)?

Burpee and Wikipedia both say yes.

BeetlesPerSqFt wrote:

countrynaturals wrote:New question: Can the seeds from asparagus (long) beans be cooked and eaten like other dried beans (cowpeas, limas, etc.)?

Burpee and Wikipedia both say yes.

Thanks, Beetles. Google wasn't as accommodating. I guess I'll have to be the guinea pig on this one, since I can't find anyone who's actually done it.