Aquadulce Claudia Broad Bean

[Marb67]

I have bought these robin hood broad beans as they are to be sown this month only. I have never sown autumn b beans before and have no new compost. I have a cold greenhouse and some used compost from my spuds in bags.

Will they germinate in this cold in a greenhouse and will used compost be ok just to start them off ? I have been advised to sow autumn ones due to poor growth and thrip attack from spring sown. I have yet to have any decent number beans worth eating from the last few years.

[Hazel at the Hill]

I don't grow BB in the autumn as they don't seem to gain much on the spring sown ones, but I can see why you want to get these in to help avoid thrip.

If it's a cold winter, you'll suffer losses, but I don't see why you should grow them in - say - 5" pots in the greenhouse, and keep them there over winter. Harden them off in the (early) Spring and they will be good sized plants to plant out in either containers or beds.

They will germinate fine in your spent compost, but I'd feed them regularly once they are up and running.

Actually, I'd mix some grit and a balanced feed in with the compost to give the soil some oomph, and to make sure that it is free draining - the last thing that you want is waterlogged pots.

I would have thought that your only concern would be if the pots were to get very frosted/frozen over the winter, but unless we have a really hard one, the greenhouse (and maybe fleece) should be ok.

Worth a go, anyway. Mind you, I'd keep half the seeds back to sow in the Spring in case this is a huge disaster!

[Marb67]

Ok, thanks. Yep, probably will be a disaster as all my b beans are.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Ok, thanks. Yep, probably will be a disaster as all my b beans are.

No reason that it should be, unless it's a really cold winter - and you are in the frozen north (compared to me! )

[veggiechicken]

Most seed companies say that Robin Hood BB is for spring sowing eg Broad Bean Robin Hood Seeds|Mr Fothergill's Vegetable Seeds

Aquadulce Claudia or SuperAquadulce are the usual varieties for Autumn sowing.

[bearded bloke]

What VC said about varieties ^^^^^ plus make sure you keep the greenhouse door closed, mice love a bean snack particularly in the cold months

[Zelenina]

The T&M online catalogue says "Sowing Months: February, March, April"

But it also says "In mild areas, Broad Bean 'Robin Hood' can be autumn sown for earlier crops the following year." How mild is Cheshire Marb?

[Bigmallly]

" How mild is Cheshire Marb?

Not very................

[Hazel at the Hill]

To be fair, I think that Marb has a fairly sheltered/enclosed garden, and is in an 'urban' area - that's generally good for a degree or two.

I hadn't thought about varieties, but now VC mentions it, Aquadulce or the Sutton are normally recommended for overwintering, aren't they?

If that's the case, you could keep your Robin Hoods till spring and invest in a packet of a more winter hardy variety. It would be a shame to steal a march on thrips just for all the plants to keel over in the cold.

[Zelenina]

I guess you haven't got much to lose by trying, since you're expecting disaster anyway. You might even get a pleasant surprise. And maybe we'll have another exceptionally mild winter like the last one (at least it was like that here, I don't know about Cheshire). And you can keep some back or buy more to plant in the spring in case it doesn't work out.

That's what I'm going to do with my Red Epicure seeds. It says on the packet that they can be autumn sown, so I'm going to try some now and some later. But they'll all be outdoors, not in a greenhouse.

I've actually got a volunteer Red Epicure plant flowering now, so it'll be interesting to see how that gets on through the winter.

[Marb67]

It is mild in my walled garden as well as in a cold greenhouse. It def says on the T@M packet that Robin Hood is an Autumn bean, not spring.

[veggiechicken]

It says that on the T@M website too - Broad Bean 'Robin Hood' - Pea & Bean Seeds - Thompson & Morgan They're one of the seed companies that say they can be autumn sown.
Give them a go, Marb, and let us know how they do.

[Marb67]

I dont live in an urban area. I live in a large village.

[Scarlet]

Personally I'd go for the old time favourite for Autumn sowing - aquadulce Claudia.

[jacob]

My experience with autumn sown broad beans isn't great (although my attempts have coincided with some pretty hard winters) and I've given up.

What I might suggest you trying is a) germinating inside in, say, Feb, then booting into the greenhouse before planting out. Or b) try grown in big pots in the greenhouse, booting them out when you want the space. I've dabbled with a) and regularly do b) getting myself a nice early crop of broad beans, sown 3-4 to a planter.