On Sat, 9 Feb 2008 13:40:55 +0000, candide
wrote:


Hello I hope you can give me some advice:

I have been stripping away the remains of last years runner beans today
to get my borders ready for this years crop.
Can you tell me if planting the beans/seeds from the pods of these old
plants will be better, worse or no different from planting beans/seeds
fresh out of a packet?

Properly dried, your harvested beans will grow as well as newly
purchased seeds.

Also can I use seeds for runner beans and Jalapeno peppers that I
bouught last year or is it better to buy new packets this year?

As to seed longevity, check out the list at
http://www.hillgardens.com/seed_longevity.htm
where it will tell you that last year's beans (3-6 years) and pepper
seeds (3-5 years) should still be viable for planting this year.
That's provided they've been stored reasonably well.
You can always do a germination test. Here's how:
http://www.emmitsburg.net/gardens/ar...2005/seeds.htm

Have fun.

Ross
Southern Ontario, Canada.
AgCanada Zone 5b
Google Earth:
43º 17' 26.75" North
80º 13' 29.46" West
To email, remove the "obvious" from my address.