My Grandfather bred a bush bean for my Grandma. They've been gone for years, but I would like to try and keep the breed alive for heirloom purposes. I've got two sources of seeds, 1 source is about 5-8 years old, and the other source is 25+.
What are my chances of getting any of these seeds to sprout? I assume the 25+ year old seeds will be less than 1%, but I'm hoping the 5+ year old seeds I might get closer to 50% or better. Any ideas?
I have looked at several sites, including the forums on gardenweb.com and have found that viability of bean seeds varies greatly based on the variety and the manner of storage. Most of those who claimed 80%+ viability of their beans after five years stored their beans in a freezer at 0 degrees Fahrenheit.
According to SmartGardener, Blue Lake Bush Beans should be about 75% viable when planted between 3 and 5 years. Here's the link: http://www.smartgardener.com/plants/2327-bean-venture-blue-lake-bush-bean/guide/seed_saving.
Good luck!
FYI, you don't have to plant beans very far away from other beans to prevent cross-pollination. Just a few feet should be enough, as most are self-fertile and the flowers don't even open up until pollination has already been accomplished.
"Beans produce perfect, self-pollinating flowers. Cross pollination by insects is possible but rare as pollination occurs before the flower opens." http://www.seedsave.org/issi/904/beginner.html
