[Spr0ut]

I am sure this one has been covered before, but is it worth autumn sowing peas and broad beans to carry over winter? I have ground spare and will only sow green manure otherwise just to keep existing nutrients in the beds.

[Asherweef]

I'd be interested in hearing the members' opinions on this as Monty seems to really go for it; I'm looking to overwinter a lot of peas and beans for next year.

[Nobbie]

I think it's worth it for beans as they're pretty hardy and don't need much attention. It's also one less job to do in spring and you get a slightly earlier crop with less blackfly problems. For me, all the spring sown beans were taken by mice, but the autumn sown ones were left alone. Maybe there's plenty of better food around in autumn so the mice don't bother. No idea about peas, I'm sure DD will be along to advise.

[BabbyAnn]

The first time I overwintered broad beans, I got an amazing harvest.  Thereafter, severe cold winters, gale force winds, very wet / saturated ground  ... I lost too many plants year after year that I just didn't bother after that and now wait until late winter - there's not a lot to sow then, so at least it is one thing to cross off the eager beavers list LOL.  Peas - I've never overwintered, but from what I've learned from others, it is best to leave it until spring to sow them.

[MalcW]

I planted autumn broad beans last year and had an excellent harvest.

[mumofstig]

No idea about peas, I'm sure DD will be along to advise.

It's an old thread but DD's opinion here......... unless he's changed his mind! Somehow I doubt it 
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=46839.msg549700#msg549700

I tried them once and none lived through a not particularly cold winter, wouldn't bother again. Mine crop in June from a March sowing, anyway 

[DD.]

Sorry I'm a bit late - and quite correct, I have not changed my mind!

[Snoop]

In the thread that MoS provides a link for, a couple of people mention Douce Provence.

I overwintered these one year and don't know why I have never done it since. We have extremely cold winters here and that year we had two spells of snow and some heavy frosts, especially between December and late February, but I kept them covered with fleece overnight. They didn't grow very tall (in theory they can grow up to 75 cm but mine were only about 50 cm) but they were quite productive and a very welcome early crop. The only effort involved was covering up and uncovering with the fleece.

Maybe you could try peas as a green manure legume. There are a couple of recent threads on here about reduced seeds. Joe Swift's seeds (http://www.vegetableseeds.net/Pea_Douce_Provence_p/pea03.htm) has packets of a hundred seeds for 47 p at the moment.

I will be growing them again this year.

[JayG]

I don't bother autumn sowing or planting anything - there are very few crops that really have to be started then, and for me the risks aren't worth the benefits, even though I do understand the feeling that it's good to know there's something already planted out there in the cold and dark just waiting for spring to come to life. 

Having said that, I'm sure the 'risks' are much less down in Cornwall than they are here. 

[beesrus]

Broad beans, yes, absolutely, but peas, no, absolutely.... not even in the far South west.
Make sure the broad beans aren't planted too early in the Autumn, that's quite important. After last year's mild Winter, I will now be sowing my usual aquadulce broad beans a bit later, the first week in November, just in case it's mild again. They don't want to be 2 feet tall going into the new year. Tried a couple of other varieties in the past and they were nowhere near as hardy.
I sometimes wonder what planet dear old Monty lives on if he thinks over-Wintering peas is a good idea ... surely not. But, in the end, he's in the entertainment business, and his admittedly beguiling story telling should be taken in that context, as a gentle muse.
I will also be doing my normal Autumn onion sets, but this will be the last year as I am slowly getting to grips with January sowing of onion seed rather than onion from sets. Feel I need another year yet of honing the art... haven't quite mastered it yet.

[Potty Plotty Lotty]

No joy with peas and very limited success with broad beans this far north (which isn't north at all!) but I've got some Wizard beans to try this year. I used them as a green manure the year before last and they easily got through the winter so I'm now trying this for culinary purposes.

[BabbyAnn]

No joy with peas and very limited success with broad beans this far north (which isn't north at all!) but I've got some Wizard beans to try this year. I used them as a green manure the year before last and they easily got through the winter so I'm now trying this for culinary purposes.

Bear in mind that last winter was so mild, anything green seem to get through it so I would treat the success this time with caution rather than the norm 

[Nobbie]

No joy with peas and very limited success with broad beans this far north (which isn't north at all!) but I've got some Wizard beans to try this year. I used them as a green manure the year before last and they easily got through the winter so I'm now trying this for culinary purposes.

Bear in mind that last winter was so mild, anything green seem to get through it so I would treat the success this time with caution rather than the norm 

[Robster]

Beans definitely worth it.  As long as they are sown not too early.  This was a very mild winter and I had an inch or two of growth before February.  Much more and they would have suffered if we had snow (which of course we did not).  Great crop this year.  I had all of mine out by about second week in June.  Allowing plenty of time to plant out or sow something else in their spot.  That I think is where the real advantage is- in the crop that follows.

[New shoot]

I sowed Wizard beans at home in late autumn 2012 and they came through that winter with no problem at all despite the cold and snow.  I only had a few plants, but I got a decent harvest as they are so productive. 

This was March 2013.  They had already had a dose of snow in January.  Neither time bothered them in the slightest, whereas the broad beans I had under cloches were pulled up they were so poor.



Last year I planted 4 rows on the plot with all my saved seeds and have had a huge harvest, to the point of thinking 4 rows is OTT and I need less this year.  My plot has been rubbish for overwintering broad beans previously, so I'm very pleased