wizard beans for october sow

[lmayhow]

So I brought some Wizard bean (broard bean) seeds from Real seeds for a winter sow, as I understand this is for a spring crop. Has anyone grown these can't find much on line. Did they survive the winte well and produce by spring? How long did they produce for? Trying to plan ahead with my plot and was wondering if I could put the wizard in my runner bean section in the winter/spring? To then use the area for runners late june? Looking for items I can use at oposite times of year trying to not leave plot empty....

Thank you

[Alison]

I don't follow families with family as part of my rotation so beans (or peas for that matter) wouldn't go where beans have just come out. That said, as long as you've fed the ground you'll be OK as beans don't harbour much in the way of disease. Not grown that variety but if you want more info it may be worth emailing Real Seeds (as you got them from there), they are almost embarrassingly helpful with their advice and info.

[bario1]

I've tried overwintering Wizard beans, they didn't fare that well to be honest. They were so battered and blackened by January that I had to cut them to the ground and let them re-sprout. I've never had much success overwintering broad beans generally, maybe the weather is just too vile up here. I do three sowings of Wizard these days, one in Feb (undercover), one in March (in coldframe) and one in April (direct). I also sow Aquadulce Claudia undercover in Feb as they seem to crop a few weeks earlier than the first sowing of Wizard.

I would try a 'true' overwintering broad bean like Aquadulce, you might have more luck where you are, and if they make it through the winter they should definitely be done by June.

Hope that helps.

[sparrow100]

I had no probs with my Wizard beans this year in terms of overwintering. Then the spring was so wet they rotted when 4 ft high and starting to produce. Was very annoying, but not their fault.

[Ryleh]

I planted my Wizard beans around October time last year, by the end of December they were all about 3-4 inches high. I had a %100 success rate in terms of germination and every plant survived the winter. They didnt seem to do much until about March time and then started to shoot up reaching a height of about 5ft.

I made a mistake with mine though in that I planted them close with the intention of using them as a green manure and digging in but then changed my mind and should have thinned the plants out. It didnt seem to affect productivity though I expect I would have had a lot more beans if I'd spaced them more appropriately. I'll be growing them again this year.