brasmith,
All though I wasn't 100% sure from that picture that's exactly what I was thinking. They were probably some of the very first female pods to form (what every one seems to call the pre-flowers) and they've just had enough time to swell up. And they don't necessarily have to have a seed forming in them to do that.
I just got finished tending my girls for the day and I noticed I've got lot's of those individual female pods all over the plant (from top to bottom) in that exact same location as the ones the Captain was worried about. And interestingly a lot of them seem to be sporting a twin set of pistils.
While there's nothing to say that the Captain's plant still can't go hermie here in a couple of weeks (especially since he's growing from bag seed) I really don't think he's got one right now.
I'd certainly like to know what your opinion would be on any seeds that got formed from the pollen from a plant that went hermie. Personally I'd throw them the hell away because of the increased chance they would carry that recessive gene that causes that trait.
I think there's just way too much voodoo science (and hype) out there concerning this whole "feminized" seed thing. If I wanted to end up with 4 females to grow to completion I'd just start 10 (or maybe 12) beans to make sure I got them.
Jack
