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Planting dried beans from the grocery store...

61K views 26 replies 20 participants last post by  Ewe 
#1 ·
Will the dried beans you find in the grocery story sprout?

I don't see why they wouldn't, if it's just they dry out the beans and then pack them up, it would be about the same as if you dried them from your own plants to save for seed, right?

I found two bags of Cranberry/Roman Beans in my Wal-mart today. Never seen them there before. I've actually never seen these beans before, either, other than in catalogs. I was curious if they would grow if I planted them.

It would also be a nice supply of seeds - just plant some of the 100s of lbs you have saved up.
 
#2 ·
Yes, they will.

I planted a long row of Pinto beans from the grocery store, and even more blackeyed peas.

Both did great, although the pintos didn't really enjoy the heat and drought.

The blackeyed peas, though, loved the heat and the lack of rain did not bother them much.

If you are in a warmer part of the US, I recommend keeping a big bag of blackeyed peas in your preps for seed purposes. :)
 
#8 ·
I planted some blackeyed peas this year from the grocery store, planted 5 rows about 35-40 ft long, and they have by far surpassed anything I expected. In the last 2 days I have picked almost 2 5 gal buckets full of peas. I also tried some kidney beans but I think the heat was too much for them. They sprouted ok but died off. Oh, I poured the beans directly from the bag into the seeder, planted and watered. Other than a few waterings and running the tiller between rows once, they have had very little maintenance, which is why the yield was so surprising.
 
#11 ·
All of the dried beans should germinate just fine, especially after soaking. I grew great northern bean plants from dried beans I didn't want to eat, and they made wonderful green beans, and then of course if you let them grow and dry on the bush, dried beans again.
Sprouting dried beans is a cheap great way to get sprouts too.
Lentils make great tasting sprouts for egg rolls. (and of course mung beans)
Oh and quinoa is suppose to sprout as well, but I haven't tried it yet.
Google and follow 'sprouting' directions, you don't need a special sprout container either.
 
#15 ·
Funny you should ask. Since they were likely grown in a field crop atmosphere and harvested by machine, I reasoned that the grocery store pintos I planted would be a bush variety.

I was wrong.

I planted them along a section of square-wire fence, just in case, and boy I'm glad I did. They were a vine variety, and did quite well on the fence.

What was interesting is that they started flowering and putting on beans very low on the plant, and did so all the way up until the heat and lack of watering (my fault) killed them. It was just an experiment, but I feel confident in using my dry, store-bought beans to grow food.

Didn't plant any kidney beans, so I'm sorry I can't help you there. :)
 
#16 ·
Good to know, thanks. I only ask because my bush variety this year grew like gangbusters. My pole varieties have done poorly. Bush varieties are much easier for me in a raised bed scenario so I was hoping to stick with bush varieties, but I like pintos so it's a toss up.
 
#18 ·
I've heard that the beans get irradiated like potatos are to prevent the sprouting. It sounds like that must not be true for everybody. For everyone who has successfully sprouted beans from the grocery store, What brand did you buy?

Has anybody ever preserved pintobeans(young in the pod)?
 
#19 ·
Maypomatirka black eye peas. On sale for a buck a bag around Christmastime. We have ... a few ... left. lol We get Mr. Goudas here too.

Every other day I'd put a tablespoon or three into a mason jar with the cover off of it. I took some plastic window screen specially from the hardware store and gently 'screwed' the mason lid 'ring' onto it. Was pretty effective.

Rinsed them twice a day, kept them on an 45 degree angle in the dark upside down. Cooked them in a medium wok with the mustard greens and bird seed (millet) we were growing on the window sill. The little beans appreciate trying to 'hook' into the plastic screen, but easily solved. Rinse and rub. Everything can be hot soapy water and bleach rinsed for cleaning.

This was our 'winter garden' this year along with the pepper plant, the tomato plant and the potatoes in the patio window.
Tomato threw off all her flowers and her leaves got yellow spots on them. NO idea why that happens. Pepper grew on the pepper plant, and now it's red and ready to harvest.

We've done chick peas, cow peas, kidney beans (NOT recommended unless you like "BEANY" taste in a medium wok stir fry situation.)
Honestly, I think if you're willing to throw a couple of bucks at a bag of beans or peas, they'll grow for you. I'm hoping this year we can get some of these puppies to produce some more sprouts for us.
The spice section has a couple of things you can plant and grow too; sesame seeds (yummy protein AND oil), fenugreek, dill seeds, mustard seeds, etc.

To me, honestly, I think it costs more to irradiate things than to let them just sit in bags. I'd buy and try, but only buy the fun things that we use.
 
#20 ·
Pinto's are grown as bush beans by all the farmers round here, I didn't even know they could climb.

Last summer I grew a whole bunch of dry beans from seed I sorted out of a bag of 15 bean soup mix from the grocery. We're a little on the cool side for most beans here but I found a few that did ok. I think I learned why the locals grow pintos though. They were easily the best performers.
 
#21 ·
I plant several pounds of beans from the Winco bulk section every year. Much cheaper than buying the small packets.

I am going to plant beans peas and cucumber along the fence around all my gardens this year, give the deer and goats something to munch on without having to get into the garden. That will be quite a bit of bean seed. I buy some packets of beans and whatnot to plant in my well worked rows to get a better crop and whatnot, but all bulk bean growth I just use the Winco stuff.

I also use the 50 pound bags of black oil sunflower seeds as well, I throw them out early and rake them in, I can grow an entire field of those with one 50 pound bag, I do it mostly because I like how pretty it looks, but we do get a lot of sunflower seed from it as well, and the goats are attracted to that like a child to candy, it makes a good distraction from the garden areas when they get loose.

Another good one is whole feed corn, I have planted that many times just to get some bulk feed value from it for the goats.

Some things that I have found from the Winco bulk that will not sprout and grow..... Pearled barley, millet, buck wheat, flax seed, and I have had no luck with rice, though I haven't really tried very hard on rice yet.

The whole wheat they sell will sprout and grow though.
 
#25 ·
Some things that I have found from the Winco bulk that will not sprout and grow..... Pearled barley, millet, buck wheat, flax seed, and I have had no luck with rice, though I haven't really tried very hard on rice yet.

The whole wheat they sell will sprout and grow though.


Pearled barley and white rice will not grow because they have had their seed coat removed to make them more palatable. I have sorted through a bag of brown rice and found a few grains with the hulls still attached and was able to sprout them.
I have grown millet and buckwheat from food packets in my garden just as an experiment.
I often use food grade beans to grow in my garden. I like experimenting and it also lets me know that I can grow a variety of things you can't get in seed packets, even though the results are not always worth the effort.
 
#26 ·
Thanks for the post, this is good to know! I just grew some pinto beans from a package , they did really well but if I can grow them from regular grocery store ones even better!
One comment I have: my first batch of pinto beans ( the new ones I just picked) sprouted within a day in a bowl I put them in. I picked off the sprouts and dried them in oven for about 3 hours on the lowest heat setting. They came out hard and dry, like store beans.
I started them in January and started to harvest them this month, so if you live some place hot, you can grown them before it gets too hot
 
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