Hi, I planted Broad bean seeds in early November having read that it will give them a good start when Spring comes. My concern is that because the weather has been very mild and (unexpectedly) they are all growing quite nicely that frost and harsher weather will kill them. I have put fleece on but should I just be prepared to plant again in early Spring or try to protect them further.
fredp
Welcome to A4A fredp.
I find over winter broad beans can be very fickle. I think of it as a bit of a gamble. Sometimes you win and sometimes you loose. It rather depends on where you are. I love BBeans so I would be thinking of sowing some more whatever my winter ones do. I start my first new year crop in February under plastic bottle cloches. Some sown every few weeks gives me a supply for weeks.
If they are bigger than about 4" you will probably have to pull them out and start again in Feb/March. They dont like to be bigger then that to overwinter.
Welcome to A4A, fredp!
I agree that they're a bit of a gamble. We lost ours so often that we now don't bother sowing them until the spring. But when it works, you do get a lovely early crop.
I have two volunteer broad bean plants! I am leaving them to see what happens. Otherwise, they are so easy to grow in early spring, if you cloche them you can sow them from end Feb and I have always found them to be very hardy. Last year I grew a UK variety called Imperial Longpod (I think!) and they were excellent, very good croppers and fairly resistant to those black aphids.
Mine have been growing huge as well, certainly more than 4 inches more like 2 feet. Looks like there are doomed.
I like Masterpiece green longpod, they were sown February last year under bottles and much to my surprise sprung up in early April.
The oldest man on my allotment site (now sadly confined to a Home) used to earth up his overwintering BBs like potatoes. It leaves less stem for the frost to blacken causing collapse. His results were always magnificent. He ticked me off for sowing mine too early one year so that they got too tall before the worst weather - and told me to earth them up. They survived and did reasonably well.
I always sow BBs in the late autumn, and most years it is worth it (Sussex). This year illness, visitors, weather and travel made me very late - mid-December - but I am glad of that now.
One winter of endless frosts I really thought I had lost a long double row of seeds put in rather late (late November?) but as soon as the weather warmed up a little, up they came. Looked as if they had been sensibly hiding underground, developing their roots systems, ready to go.
I am very keen on autumn sown BBs and find they are well ahead of spring sown BBs, shooting up and flowering like mad after their difficult winter.
I don't plant mine before march as I kept losing them, but that was waterlogging not cold. Earthing up sounds an interesting idea.
I would never pull up and scrap a growing crop, my broad beans are about 4 inches high and even if the frost does damage the tops most times they break from the base. I always grow Aquaduce as it is the hardiest one to stand the winter.
The Sutton seeds will be planted in pots in the g/h in the next few days and planted out mid feb under plastic for the early crop. Being naturally shorter, but highly productive, they can stay protected longer.
They will be followed by open sowings from late February/early march depending on the weather. :happy7:
I'm looking forward to mine. Last year I planted nine varieties, and it's going to be interesting to see how much variation there is in the offspring. I've acquired several more since so it's going to be fun.
I've been a bit stupid and planted my beans under cover and too early. Now they are 6 - 8 inches tall, in pots in a cold frame, and going away like mad. I guess I should take the advice and plant them out and see what happens??
I've just sown mine for the 3rd time. Bliddy magpies/jackdaws have figured out how to get under my netting. :BangHead: