Re: HYB: pod ripening

Bill, germination rate varies so much from pod to pod, I can't guess the answer to your first question.
Time to maturity/harvest also varies from pod to pod and year to year. I try to harvest (either from the window sill where rotted stalk pods are ripening, or from the field) just as pods are barely starting to show signs of starting to split, put them in baggies in the fridge. 

Time for that has varied here from as little as 8 weeks to as much as 13.
I've been getting better germination from pods refrigerated this way than pods and seeds dried and planted outdoors the "normal" way. Growing conditions are just too variable here to get consistently good germination.
One surprising anecdote re: maturity from last year - stalk with pod snapped in a storm 5 days after pollination. I put it on the window sill, germination was good.
<I am sure this has been discussed before, but I am curious if any of you have looked at germination rates as related to stage of pod development at harvest. In other words, do seeds from pods left on the plant until the stalk dries and 
the pod is minutes from opening on its own germinate better than those
harvested from still green pods on healthy stalks, just as they begin to 'look 
ready.'

What is the consensus of how many weeks from pollination to harvest
is average?

Bill from rainy Oregon>

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