Broad Beans

Hello Sherbert, Welcome to the Vine. If you add your location (nearest town) to your profile it will show on your posts and we won't have to keep asking you.

As to broad beans, I usually start mine in pots in my cold greenhouse and plant them out when they're about 4 inches tall. No need to mollycoddle them, but starting in pots means no gaps in rows where the seeds have been pinched by birds or mice or squirrels.

Hello Sherbert, welcome to the Vine I do almost the same as rustylady, but I start mine in rootrainers in the stayput (that's a lean to greenhouse built against a wall as opposed to the plastic ones I had that blew away, hence blowaways ) They're tough, so once they're planted out they can be left to get on with it until they need some support to stop them blowing over. Sounds like you've made a good start, so keep it up.

Welcome to the Vine, sherbert !
We shall try to avoid making any jokes about "fizzy-cal" work, just for the moment, until you have gotten used to the nutters...ahem, regulars.
Personally I think "allotmenteers" sounds a bit more glamorous, but that's probably just me.
The grass as mulch sounds like an excellent idea. Be aware however that while it protects any useful plants under the ground from frost, it will also protect slugs and other pests (including perennial weeds) in the same way. You may wish to order your Nemasys now - or at least budget for it - so as to be sure of having it come spring !
As for your A.C.'s, I'd rather like to know that myself - I have a pailful that I germinated a few weeks ago, which I intend to (ie must) plant out in the garden and hope they will survive. I would expect yours would withstand very cold weather better in a polytunnel, and certainly start off earlier as the growing season starts sooner inside, but then again, they may be more at risk from diseases or slugs in a warmer, sheltered place...?
No doubt someone will be along who has experience of this. Have you tried the growing under cover section of the forum ?

Welcome to the Vine... I do a bit of both... Some in pots as Rustylady says and then others direct into the ground... Sowed some Saturday just gone actually...

Hello and welcome to the vine Sherbert

I sow my broad beans around mid February time in loo roll tubes they stay in the GH for around a month then get planted out.

I don't always bother with autumn broadies but if I do I usually start off in root trainers (if they're going outside) or direct in the tunnel. To be honest, I usually do better from a late Jan sowing but it can be nice sometimes to give it a go.