Allotments 4 All

 Hi all,  :D
                  Well, have you? Here in the sunny south east 8) the forecast is for mild weather for the next couple of weeks, so should I delay sowing? The last thing I want is for the plants to grow too quickly & get all leggy.  What would you do?
                         Adrian.

I didn't know that you can sow broad beans to grow over winter.
I don't like broad beans, can other beans be sown too?
e.g. butter beans.

i havent sown mine yet but have prepared the ground. i was thinking myself the very same question. i think if the weather is going to be mild it might be a good idea to wait untill the end of the month. i think that is what i will do. 

Mine are in the ground.

If they get leggy,  I'll cut them down a bit.

I've sown mine on Saturday!! Was it the right thing to do??

Oh the worry!!!

Nobbs xx  8)

Not yet... hopefully this weekend as we are away for the next two...
:-\

I wasn't going to bother this year doing them over winter as I found the ones I sowed this year were not far behind the others.

I did not sow broad beans last year, but still ended up with a plant.

I left the beans to dry on the plant and pulled them all out and into a container in the shed, must have dropped a few and i have about 6 board bean plants pop up 3 in my asparagus bed and 2 elsewhere there about 8inches high so i dont know what to do. Do i leave them or are they going to die over winter?

I have been giving the dried beans out to other allotment holders as all the plots around me lost there board beans to mice this time last year. (this is where i think my plant came from) and when i checked the beans (i have about 20 left and all promised) some showed worm damage with little holes in them so i am not sure how viable they are.

mine are  in the ground about 1 week  now
planted aquadules claudia(suttons)

I'm debating whether to sow mine now or wait till it cools down a bit. I didn't grow them in Autumn last year but i want to try it this year because my spring sown ones didn't do well. I seem to have pheasants on my plot now and I'm worried broad bean seeds is something that they might like to eat.

Friday and Saturdya are the best days to sow as per the lunar calendar. 

Jitterbug

Like Rosy I don't think I'll bother this year, they sit dormant all over winter and got in the way when I wanted to dig the ground over (rotavate this year) and as Rosy says the ones planted next year will soon catch them up.  ;D ;D ;D

I haven't cut down last year's yet and they're still producing!!!  I adore broad beans but am a bit iffy about sowing in the autumn in Scotland, although I suppose I could stick a few in and see.

When would I sow? It would need to be ahead of England and Wales I think.

i think in scotland you would be best sowing now really. i find it really useful to have them ready to harvest a few weeks early; i find they dont get too much bother from black fly as they are ready to pull up before the aphids kick in. also i find it useful to have the ground free a few weeks early for another crop that might need a bit longer like sweetcorn.

Having sown in the autumn before, and in comparison to the spring sown ones, I now never bother with the autumn varieties.

I find that the spring ones sown are only marginally later and yield so much more. Also I dont have a fight with the pigeons with spring sown ones.

I am convinced that autumn sown broad beans may not look very wonderful after a hard winter, but they have a strong established  root system, send up new shoots, and in my experience, outgrow all spring sown broad beans.

I think I'll put mine in next week. The disadvantage of planting in spring for me is last year the ground was too wet to dig and then it was too hard to dig. I had difficulty getting my potatoes in  and at the moment soil conditions are much better.

Ooooh, pleased to see that others are going to sow broadies around now.

We didn't get our lottie until January this year so didn't have a chance to try over wintering anything, so are going to give both broadies & peas a go.

You never know til you try  ;)

I've been thinking about this as well.  I reckon I'll wait until it gets a bit colder, as it might send the slugs to sleep as well.  I put some of mine under bottles (2l plastic drink ones with the bottom cut off) as that gives a much earlier crop, then leave some out for a follow on.  I use Aquadulce Claudia as well, reckon they're the best of the bunch.

Half mine went in yesterday, thge rest will be next week.
I overwinter all my broad beans now as they don't seem to get blackfly like the spring-sown ones do.