Don't worry a bit about squeezing the bottom of the pot to get those seedlings out--but DON'T grab the stem or leaves, or pull from the top. One method is to turn the pot upside down, with the stem of the plant between your fingers, and smack the bottom of the pot with your other hand. Or, if you are using those flimsy 6 pack pots, just push the bottom of the pot.
This year I used that self-watering one with 70 spots in it, so there was NO way I could tip it upside down to get each one out because it takes 2 hands just to pick the thing up, and it's flimsy, you're actually not supposed to pick it up. In the directions it just said carefully transplant them into the ground when they're big enough, well, it didn't say HOW to do it because each compartment is made of plastic and since the whole thing is 2 feet long, there is no way to get them out without destroying the plant and all the ones around it!
I'd say out of the 70, I only managed to get maybe 10 out without killing them, and even those I'm not so sure about since I just did it a week ago and it's too soon to tell if they will survive or not.
I don't like peat pots, either. If you leave the top of the pot above the soil, it acts like a wick to move the water from the root zone to the surface where it evaporates. If I buy a plant in a peat pot, I pull the pot completely off, and crumble it into the soil.
That's what I did too, last year when I used peat pots, and I didn't like the look of them laying crumbled in there with the dirt. Also, the plants that had more of that in there didn't do as well. I think next year I'll just plant a few seeds in a big pot from the beginning so I don't have to transplant them. I just hope next year I am living someplace where I have a big room to just let them germinate indoors. A friend of mine also told me he plans on doing this next year too, he hasn't had much luck with seeds & transplanting either.
A packet of bean seeds is a couple dollars, and if you buy a grown plant, you have no idea about what chemicals have been used on them.
That's a big reason why I chose to grow from seeds in the first place (the other factor being cost), I am really big on things being organic and I don't want any chemicals getting into my food!
Look for a 'country' store--somewhere out of downtown that does not cater to the 'urban homesteader' crowd. Seedlings are kind of expensive, but shouldn't be anywhere near $10 each. The farmers market may be a good place, but I did pay $3.50 each for pepper plants a couple of weeks ago!
Last year I was unable to get to a farmers market because I had a job working in the mornings when they took place. Now this year I had so many leftover seeds from last year I just used them. I still have enough left to plant next year too. But the plants I bought last year that were already grown I bought at Gertens...I'm not sure if you have those where you live but it's the biggest garden store we have around here, the place takes up a good mile of land, it's just gigantic!
Pole beans need sturdy support--buy 3 eight foot bamboo poles, tie them together at the top (use wire or some kind of string that won't disintegrate in the sun), and make a teepee. Cukes can grow on a trellis, too, saving you some room. Fasten it to a sunny wall.
Ahhh, that's where I made my mistake with my beans...all I had to prop them up was a straw!
Yes, a plastic straw from a fast food resteraunt! Yikes! Then my friend gave me a bamboo stick thing but it was very small and didn't work, the wind just blew my beans over and they died.