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Why Save Your Own Bean and Pea Seed

There is something quietly satisfying about filling a paper envelope in September with the seed that will become next year's row of runner beans or a winter's worth of peas. Beans and peas are the friendliest seeds a smallholder can save. They are large, they are generous, and they ask very little of you beyond a dry corner and a bit of patience.

A single healthy runner bean plant can produce enough seed to sow a whole row the following spring. Because beans and peas are largely self-pollinating, the seed you save will usually come true to type, so the variety you love this year is the variety you get next year. You also begin to select plants that suit your own soil, your own weather and your own way of growing, which is something no bought packet can offer. The cost is a few pods left on the plant and half an hour with a sack and a pair of hands.

Choosing the Right Plants to Save From

Start by deciding which plants deserve the privilege. Never save seed from F1 hybrids, as their offspring will be a mixed and often disappointing bunch. Stick to open-pollinated and heritage varieties, which breed true.

Walk your row in midsummer and mark the best plants with a cane or a bit of coloured wool. Look for vigour, a heavy set of pods, good flavour, and above all good health. Leave anything that mildewed early, wilted oddly or produced distorted pods well alone; you do not want to carry those traits into next season's crop.

Take your seed from the middle of the plant rather than the first pods to form. The earliest pods come from the earliest flowers, and selecting only from those can gradually shift your variety towards flowering before the season is ready for it. Broad beans are the exception to the self-pollination rule and cross readily with other broad beans nearby, so grow just one variety for seed, or keep different varieties well apart.

Letting the Pods Dry on the Plant

Once you have marked your plants, stop picking from them. The pods need to stay on the plant until they turn brown, papery and dry, and the seeds inside rattle when you shake them. Do not be tempted to harvest while the pods are still green and fleshy; seed taken at that stage will shrivel and die in store.

In a decent summer, French beans, runner beans, peas and broad beans will all dry happily where they stand. In a wet or humid spell, or in the damper parts of the country, lift the whole plant, roots and all, and hang it upside down in a dry, airy shed or greenhouse. Spread a sheet beneath to catch any pods that drop.

• Pods should be brown and crisp, never leathery or damp
• Air must move freely around the hanging plants
• Avoid full sun, which can bake and split the pods
• Bring them in before the pods shatter and shed their seed

Shelling, Drying and Testing Your Seed

Shelling a modest quantity by hand is one of the pleasant autumn jobs, best done with a mug of tea and the radio on. For a larger haul, tip the pods into an old pillowcase or hessian sack and bash them gently with a rolling pin or wooden mallet. You want to release the seed, not crush it.

Separate seed from chaff by pouring it slowly from one bucket to another on a breezy day, or in front of a fan on low. The lighter pods and bits blow away while the heavier seed falls clean into the lower bucket. A colander or coarse sieve will do the same job indoors.

Spread the shelled seed on trays or newspaper in a warm, airy room for a week or two to finish drying. Then test it: a properly dry bean or pea is hard enough that a fingernail will not dent it, and it will snap rather than bend. Anything that bends is still holding moisture and will go mouldy in store.

Storing Seed in Paper Envelopes

Paper envelopes are the traditional choice for good reason. Paper lets seed breathe, wicks away the last traces of moisture and does not sweat the way plastic bags do. Write the variety and the year on the envelope before you fill it, while you can still remember which row was which.

Group your envelopes in a larger paper bag or a sturdy box, then store the lot somewhere cool, dark and steady. A north-facing cupboard, an unheated spare room or a cool garage shelf all work well. Aim for somewhere below 15°C, ideally between 5°C and 10°C. Avoid warm kitchen cupboards, greenhouses and damp sheds, all of which shorten the life of your seed.

Keeping Mice, Damp and Weevils at Bay

Mice will chew through paper, plastic bags, cardboard boxes and even thin plastic tubs to reach a store of beans. Metal is your friend. A biscuit tin, an old cash box, a sealable glass jar or a galvanised bin with a tight lid will keep them out, especially if you place the paper envelopes inside first.

Watch for bean weevil too, which announces itself as tiny round holes in the stored seed. Freezing newly dried seed for a few days will deal with most lurking pests, but only freeze seed that is bone dry, as freezing damp seed kills it. Let the container come back to room temperature before opening it, or condensation will form inside.

Check your stores once or twice over winter and discard anything mouldy or soft. Beans and peas generally keep well for three to five years, and a quick germination test on damp kitchen paper in spring will tell you how lively they are. Finally, keep your seed stock well away from the kitchen, because home-saved beans have a habit of finding their way into the stew pot before spring arrives.