How long should I soak runner bean seeds before planting?

24 hrs. This gives you an advantage of 3-4 days by sowing them straight into the soil.
Not a necessity though.

Dont do this with dwarf french beans as they have a tendancy to die.

i have never soaked them but 24hrs seems reasonable as trees.. suggests.

I soak them until the white roots appear. Then sometimes I plant them in the ground but more often I pot them up until they are small plants and then plant them . I find that the most reliable way of getting successful plants in the end.

do you put them on kitchen towel Inverglen? my kids popped some in a jar but covered them with water. they hadnt told me so 5 days, and a nasty smell later they rotted. :o(

Yes . Forgot to say on a small tray or similar with the seeds spread out on wet kitchen paper and then covered in wet kitchen paper and the paper kept moist until they sprout and then I pot them up.

Hello,
I put dry bean seeds on moist kitchen paper in a rectangular plastic tray. I use an empty ice box. Two pens through the sides of this box and another empty box on it as a lid. In this way there are air openings but the paper does not dry too fast. After 5 days, first white roots appear. And after about 8 to 10 days first bean plants are big enough to take out and to plant in the garden soil or in a flower pot.
More about this method on my weblog: Sjefgardentips.wordpress.com (Tip 12: Sowing beans on absorbing paper).

Greets, Sjef