Seed Saving: How to Save Bean and Pea Seeds

Introducing Part 3 of our series on seed saving! How to Save Bean and Pea Seeds!

If you want to learn how to save seeds for next year from your bush, pole and runner beans, and shelling, snow and snap peas, you’re at the right place!

These common legumes are from different species, and beans will not cross with peas, but they are very similar as far as growing and seed-saving, so I’m combining them into one (hopefully) informative post!

You can read our main article about Seed Saving here:

How to Save Seeds

Bean and Peas are Self Pollinating

Common beans and peas are both self pollinating, meaning they do not require insects or wind for pollination, with runner beans being the exception.

Beans and peas, including runner beans, also have perfect flowers, which means that unlike squash which have male and female flowers, the male and female parts are all contained in one flower.

Crosses

Beans and peas are considered inbreeding plants. Normally a flower is pollinated by itself, but both species can also be pollinated by insects. Pea and bean flowers are not bees’ first choice, but in areas where there are not many other bee-attracting flowers, they may carry pollen from one variety to another.

What does this mean? Most of the time, different varieties of beans or peas will not cross with other varieties and can be grown side by side. However, if you want to be extra careful to preserve your different varieties and keep them seperate, varieties should be grown at least 50 feet apart, or the plants or flowers covered with a fine mesh to keep out insects.

Runner Beans

Runner beans also have perfect flowers, but unlike common pole and bush beans, they need to be pollinated by insects to get the pollen from one part of the flower to another. They can cross with other varieties of runners within 1/2 mile, but will not cross with other types of beans.

To keep a variety pure when it is grown near other runner types, the flowers should be covered in fine mesh to keep out insects. If insects are kept away, the flowers will need to be hand-pollinated by gently squeezing the lower part of each flower.

Harvesting Seeds

Both beans and peas should be allowed to completely mature and dry out on the plant. Once they are dry, remove the seeds from the pods and let the seeds dry out further before storing for winter

Extra Tip: Make Sure You Save Some Plants for Seed!

Unfortunately with legumes, you cannot have your seeds and eat them too. To make sure you don’t eat all of your beans and peas and leave none for seed, you may want to mark some plants just for that purpose and not harvest from those plants. Alternately, pick the first of the crop for your table, and make sure to leave some pods toward the end of the season for seed.

Many times, I’ve made the mistake of picking too many beans or peas, thinking the plant would produce more that I could save for seed, only to have my peas fizzle out in the heat, or an early frost get my bean plants before the seeds were ready!

Haven’t Found a Favorite Variety Yet? Some of My Favorite Beans and Peas:

Disclaimer: this list contains affiliate links to Azure Standard, a natural foods co-op that also sells seeds, plants and organic animal feed. Azure Standard delivers to most of the US.