# Beans

> Beans is slang for cannabis seeds; "popping beans" means germinating them.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/beans.html
- Also written: bean, seeds (slang), pop beans, popping beans
- Glossary category: Grower slang and culture
- Status: Draft: awaiting expert review · Updated: 2026-10-31
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), attribute "GenetixBay cannabis glossary"

Beans is common slang for [cannabis seeds](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/achene.md). "Popping beans" means [germinating](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/germination.md) them, and "bean count" is how many seeds are in a pack.

## In practice

"I popped 12 beans of that line and got 11 up" means 12 seeds were germinated and 11 emerged, a germination rate of about 92%. Growers swap and trade beans, store them cool and dry, and rate [seed lots](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/seed-run.md) by germination, vigour and uniformity. A healthy seed is fully formed, hard, and usually grey to brown with a darker pattern; pale, soft or crushed seeds often fail.

Storage matters more than age alone: seed kept dry and cold, sealed against moisture, can stay viable for many years, while seed kept warm and humid can fail within a couple of years. See [seed viability and storage](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/germination/seed-viability-storage.md).

## Don't confuse with

- **Achene**: the botanical name for what growers call a seed (seed plus fruit wall).
- **Bagseed**: one source of beans, but a specific, untrusted one.
- **Clones**: plants started from cuttings, not seed.

## Related terms

[Regs](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/regs.md), [Fems](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/fems.md), [Seed bank](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/seed-bank.md), [Germination](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/germination.md)

## Read more

- [Germination methods compared: soak, paper towel, plugs, direct sow](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/germination/germination-methods.md)