[Zippy]

Hi. The Broad Beans I sowed back in late November got caught in severe frost and although they appear to be alive (still green), they are showing a black stem from the base.

I will keep them in to see if they recover, but this makes me wonder what other gardeners do - do you use fleece on your BBs or are they usually OK?

[Salmo]

They should recover if they were not too big. They overwinter best if they are only a couple of inches high. Some of the very early sown ones that are 5 inches high will probably be hit very hard.

[Aunt Sally]

The best vriety for overwintering are Aquadulce Claudia.  I'm not certain how frost hardy some of the other varieties are.

[arugula]

Well its our first go at broad beans this year, so we planted a compact variety (can't remember name) due to restricted space/high winds and they're about 5/6 inches tall now. I was out checking the bird feeders there and the bean plants look very droopy and sad as we have had a hard frost last night. We don't have things like plant fleece here as we just don't get frosts.

I wonder if they're going to be OK....

[bonfire]

Mine - currently under 6 inches of snow - are, by good fortune rather than planning the perfect stage to survive being frozen - about 3 inches high. I find that you may lose a few, and if you do, the survivors then have extra room to grow on and make bigger plants. So don't worry too much.

Faffing around with fleece - when do you take it off - what happens if winter gales start blowing it around etc - runs against the idea of growing hardy broad beans through the winter - to work with plants that are appropriate for the season. You can't control everything so let them get on with it. If they fail you can always start again with spring sown beans in a few months time!

[gillie]

the bean plants look very droopy and sad as we have had a hard frost last night.

Going droopy is a plant's response to frost.  It stops ice bursting the plant cells.  You will be surprised how quickly they perk up when the weather warms up.

As others have said, fleece can knock plants around and is a very mixed blessing.

Cheers,

Gillie

[lightyears]

my winter broccoli and cabbages are 3 inches deep in snow today, look fine though 

[stompy]

Hey Guys

Why bother putting broad beans in in autum? I don't understand
Everyone says not to worry if some fail as a spring sowing will soon catch up.

We can't do autum sowings on our site as it gets very waterlogged over the winter, so i sow in pots or toilet rolls at the beginning of feb after first chitting on kitchen paper, and then plant out at the beginning of march, that way we don't have to worry about the winter weather.

So like i said, what is the advantage of sowing them in autum?

Andy

[Elcie]

Hey Guys

Why bother putting broad beans in in autum? I don't understand
Everyone says not to worry if some fail as a spring sowing will soon catch up.

We can't do autum sowings on our site as it gets very waterlogged over the winter, so i sow in pots or toilet rolls at the beginning of feb after first chitting on kitchen paper, and then plant out at the beginning of march, that way we don't have to worry about the winter weather.

So like i said, what is the advantage of sowing them in autum?

Andy

I like sowing them in Autumn as it gives me something to grow over winter when there isn't much else going on.  I still like to go to the plot even in the winter and it means I have one more thing to look at.  I have also heard that winter sowings are more likely to avoid black fly.

[arugula]

Stompy, in response to your point, I agree with Elcie that its something to grow over winter . Lightyears, our Cabbages, Kale, Turnips, Garlic and Onions all look great still  .  Thanks Bonfire and Gillie, even if we did live in a place now where you tend to get frost, I think it would be quite a faff using fleece, and it sounds as though there may be hope for the beans yet anyway , if not we all live and learn by our mistakes .

Thanks all for your input!

[bonfire]

Stompy - down here in Sussex I find that overwintered broad beans produce at least three weeks earlier than spring sown. I have given up spring sowing because they are more prone to blackfly and those few weeks overlap with the overwintered ones, still producing, and then with early peas. This means that most of my spring sown broad beans have finished up in the freezer. When they get eventually get eaten later in the year they are not that great (though I would never admit this to a non-grower).

I suppose the gradual waning of enthusiasm for broad beans may be just my family but one of the pleasures of growing your own is to tailor your crops to the needs of those eating them and one of the worst experiences is to watch crops withering unused in the kitchen after all that work!

[arugula]

.........
I suppose the gradual waning of enthusiasm for broad beans may be just my family but one of the pleasures of growing your own is to tailor your crops to the needs of those eating them and one of the worst experiences is to watch crops withering unused in the kitchen after all that work!

Bonfire, I think the waning of enthusiasm for broad beans may just be in your family . They are so widely used in "summer" cookery these days whenever that is shown on the TV and they feature prominently in Italian cookery. We haven't grown them before, because they are one of those veg that I have always said I "don't like". Much as I did about Rocket before we grew that ourselves.   

[stompy]

I see what your saying bonfire, but it seems like an awfull lot of effort for the sake of 3 weeks

[zazen999]

They are often overwintered to avoid black bean aphid as well.

[Sideways]

My broad beans are two feet high and in flower!

They're doing just fine though, well supported.