There are lots of ways to get things growing cheaply. You can save seeds. You can grow produce from scraps. You can join a seed or plant exchange, etc. I wanted to grow pinto beans this year. Perhaps a few other shelled bean varieties as well. The seeds seemed rather expensive though. $6 for an oz of seeds, yikes. So, like other growth endeavors I looked to the supermarket. I’ve previously grown quinoa and lentils from supermarket bulk bins. I’ve grown sunflowers from bird seed. Could beans be grown easily as well?

I bought pinto and black beans and the kids helped start the germination test. Simple paper towel and ziploc bag taped to the window. We started our watermelon seeds like this as well.

Germination has been a success. 100% germination for the pinto beans and 80% for the black. I’ll be buying a bag of pinto beans (10lbs for $14.99) and spreading it about in various places to find the easiest way to grow it. We eat a lot of Mexican food here so I’ll be excited not to have to buy canned pinto beans again!