Grow Your Own Magazine

Do I need to cloche overwintering peas and beans? Probs a daft question but I've never grown them before

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Imagination is everything, it is a preview of what is to become.

I put my broad beans under a cloche but they have done so well already I may need to rethink it!

KK

I've never grown them before either, but I was planning on putting the little polythene tunnel cloche from Lidl over mine. I haven't planted any yet though - hopefully will get time next weekend.

I would only cloche them in the worst weather...if you put plastic over them when its still warm, you will get lots of tender lush delicate growth that won't survive if it gets well cold ... I speak from bitter experience!

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~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

Oops - see KK run to remove plastic tunnel from lush growth!

Now you understand why I need this forum

KK

If you can plant them in Autumn for overwintering (check seed packet), then they shouldn't need cloche protection. Indeed protecting them can do more harm than good, encouraging soft floppy growth which gets too tall for the cloche and then dies off when exposed to the elements. Better to grow them hard, and only protect if absolutely necessary.

Just sown some of my Autumn Broad Beans tonight in modules. Once they are a couple of inches tall they will be planted out, without any protection!
The only reason I have sown them in modules is that it means I can plant a row with no 'misses' and secondly I can protect them from mice and birds!

PS Seed is my home saved 'Epicure' red beans from this years crop!

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

Perhaps a bit of protection from the wind would help. NTG made a sort of topless cloche to protect his last year. Might just try the same.

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Gardening requires a lot of water - most of it in the form of perspiration. Lou Erickson, critic and poet

Thanks everyone, you're like a lovely family, always there with a bit of good advice, aaahhww!

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Imagination is everything, it is a preview of what is to become.

I grew overwintering broad beans for the first time last year. I just planted them and left them to fend for themselves and they grew really well without any protection.
They were the Aquadulcia Claudia ones.
The only thing I did was put up some canes to keep them upright when they were nearly fully grown as the wind kept knocking them about.

One might have expected a topless version from NTG.....