[AnneB]

I was explaining my logic and experience DD, not yours 
In comparison, compost or no, it's faff, it's time, and just another thing for me to trip over
Just like peas, draw furrows, chuck your seed in, and cover it up. Unlike peas, when the seedlings are expected to emerge, protect from slugs.

On an aside, your deep cat litter tray thing got me searching for a new leek system, and I've had huge success this year with sowing leeks in a clump in the greenhouse border prior to transplanting.......... the deepest cat litter tray I could find.

It was me who mentioned pots VP.   I do use old Longley Farm yogurt pots but also large cell trays.  I don't grow enough beans of 1 type to warrant shoving a load in a tray  - I like to try different varieties.   This year for runners I am growing Perfection plus Greek Gigantes butter type runner beans.  For climbing French beans I am doing Purple Blue Lake, Poletschka, Cherokee Trail of Tears, Cara la Virgen Baneza de Leon and Borlotti.   For dwarf French Beans I am doing Black Turtle, Dragon's Tongue (a few of those for the seed circle), Sonesta, Cannellini and Hutterite Pea Soup.   We like our variety here!  I don't have room to shove all of these in a tray each, either for the trays or that number of plants when planted out, so pots or cells do for me.   Now leeks are in trays and peas go direct.