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I have had a good search but cant find what I want, so if I have missed it I apologise. When is the optimum time to get Aquadulce broad beans in? I usually plant spring beans but have some space down the allotment so thought I would try them. Still quite warm here in Somerset.

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Found this
Hope it helps
Thompson & Morgan Seed and Plant Catalogues
never grown them myself this is our first year but learning lots

Without hijacking the thread, can anyone tell me if autumn sown beans will crop in March/April? If so, can spuds go into the space afterwards ?

I understand late October is the recommended time, or even early into November, esp in the warm southern climes of Zummerzett...

Rocketron - I'm told they will only crop a couple of weeks earlier than spring-planted broadies so will not be ready by march / april - so don't count on planting spuds there next year, but they will certainly be out in time for a more tender crop to follow.

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Warning: I have a dangerous tendency to act like I know what I'm talking about.

I'm confused, my packet of T&M Aquadulce Claudia Broad beans says "sowing time Feb - March" and "plant out after all risk of frost has passed" but all the advice i have seen seems to advise getting them in the ground in the autumn and that they should withstand frost - so who is right? (p.s. never grown them before).

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Newbie,
keen but clueless

You can sow them in spring.
But many on here have successfully overwintered them (I haven't tried it yet myself but will sow them later in the autumn) so clearly they are frost hardy.

My guess from reading on here is that if you sow them now you end up with hardy, sturdy plants that will survive the winter and start back into growth next spring, but maybe will not produce a massive crop - whereas if you sow them in spring and protect them from frost they will be less hard but better- and/or nicer-cropping... as long as the aphids don't get there first!

Why not try both approaches if you have the space? (and if you have enough seeds! from memory with my T&M seeds I think you get about 50 in a pack which is perfect for 2 or 3 sowings...)

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Warning: I have a dangerous tendency to act like I know what I'm talking about.

Sounds like a plan to me Demeter - thanks!

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Newbie,
keen but clueless

I've never done Autumn & spring sowings in the same growing season so can't vouch for it,but I've been told that spring sown Broads have more of a tendency to taste bitter?Does anyone know if this is true?

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I don't know Andi, but as I was reading your post it struck me I never really enjoy them in the summer much, might be for completely different reasons though.

I have a packet of T & M Aquadulce Claudia propped on my keyboard as I type - one of the many seeds 'not on the list' I ended up buying whilst dragging wallet, sorry, OH round the garden centre this afternoon looking for bulbs.

On the front it is advertised as 'one of the earliest - autumn sowing'

The instructions on the back give you the option of sowing in either October or January, no mention of any cold protection. Harvest time is given as June - July.

These broad beans also claim to be 'less susceptible to blackfly than other varieties'

I've never grown BB before so I think I'll do both sowing times and see what happens!

I usually finish my autumn sown beans by end of May, so most years, yes, but we are at the mercy of the weather, it's not guarenteed.

It will also depend how and when you want to harvest them to your liking. As we like them on the tender side, we do start harvesting earlier than most folks.

Can i start them off in modules in an unheated greenhouse & plant them out later on, or wouldn't that work?

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Newbie,
keen but clueless

Hi

I started mine off in toilet rolls before popping them in down the lottie right at the end of October last year (i am based in Surrey though so if you are further north you might want to get them in a little earlier), you can direct sow them but i thought there would be less chance of the mice getting to the seeds this way. I left them pretty much to there own devices all winter but i did cover them with some fleece propped up over a frame just to keep the worst of the snow and frost off them and give them a bit of protection from the wind.

They did crop a couple of weeks earlier than the broad beans I sowed in the spring but the main advantage was having them done and dusted and ready to go in the ground already, as in the spring every thing wants sowing at about the same time and I never seem to find the time to sow all the things I want to grow.

Good luck with them

I grow mine in 3" pots in a cold greenhouse overwinter and plant out in March.

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Mark

Vegetable Kingdom blog

I pop them straight into the ground in early November. If a prolonged frost is forecast I chuck a fleece over, but generally they are fine. I remember my Grandad sowing 'The Sutton' for overwintering when I was a kid and some years they were OK, some years the frost killed them, but we had proper winters then. I don't believe I've lost any to the weather in recent years, but slugs seem to decimate them if given chance in early spring, presumably because there's little else available at the time.

I shall be trying overwintering them, and I have never grown them before, but my late father always planted in october, said it reduced risk of balckfly *shrug* we shall see.

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'Lets just stick it in, and see what happens?'
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ogs/bridexiii/

Looks like i'll be having garlic, onions sets & broad beans in pots in my cold greenhouse this winter then, and here's me thinking it would be all empty - its so exciting!

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Newbie,
keen but clueless