Spring beans.

[OcmPark]

Looking at spring beans as a break option for some failed OSR this coming spring. Has anyone experience growing? Heavy land. Understand a fairly low input break crop and have a market for them local. Toying between that and a kings soil structure mix saw good results five years ago the following year when sown into a 1st wheat.

Another note, does anybody have any spring bean seed for sale?

north yorkshire/cleveland
many thanks

 

[ollie989898]

Direct drill them as deep as you can. Pre-em weed control and basically hope for the best. They have to be grown cheap, much seems to be dependant upon the weather in the season.

Two goes with fungicide, maybe a spray for wild oats but it soon gets expensive the more you do.

 

[teslacoils]

Another note, does anybody have any spring bean seed for sale?

Surely, beans to feed your stock....

 

[Banana Bar]

Brilliant break crop. 4 years ago I grew them and harvested 6.4 t/ ha dried over Camgrains weighbridge. Crap breakcrop, the following year I harvested 540kg/ha over Openfields weighbridge ( on 57ha ), they were planted at 310kg/ha!!!!. Way to volatile for me any longer.

 

[ollie989898]

Brilliant break crop. 4 years ago I grew them and harvested 6.4 t/ ha dried over Camgrains weighbridge. Crap breakcrop, the following year I harvested 540kg/ha over Openfields weighbridge ( on 57ha ), they were planted at 310kg/ha!!!!. Way to volatile for me any longer.

What was the issue with them with the poor yields do you think, just a bad season weather-wise? I've never known a crop that bad.

 

[Wigeon]

Very unreliable. Very weedy.

Not sure I've ever made money on them.

Whether or not to grow them vs a summer cover depends on your fixed costs, but in my view if you don't need the "cash flow" then summer cover all the way...

 

[farmerm]

Looking at spring beans as a break option for some failed OSR this coming spring. Has anyone experience growing? Heavy land. Understand a fairly low input break crop and have a market for them local. Toying between that and a kings soil structure mix saw good results five years ago the following year when sown into a 1st wheat.

Another note, does anybody have any spring bean seed for sale?

north yorkshire/cleveland
many thanks

I have done Ok with beans and I have lost money with beans... You want want warmth and moisture when they go in, weather turns cold and dry/hot and dry/cold and wet and they sit there, get mauled by weevil and never really get going again. AHL1 is replacing the failed OSR where it hasn't got a self drilled barley crop. The self seeded might yield make 1.5-2T with minimal inputs, only time will tell if that is in acres, ha or total.

 

[Banana Bar]

What was the issue with them with the poor yields do you think, just a bad season weather-wise? I've never known a crop that bad.

2 successive +35C days when they were flowering and the flowers literally fell off They had looked fantastic until then. There were fields nearby that didn’t even get harvested.

BB

 

[ollie989898]

2 successive +35C days when they were flowering and the flowers literally fell off They had looked fantastic until then. There were fields nearby that didn’t even get harvested.

BB

Fudge. Not much else anyone can say to that really.

Have you tried linseed?

 

[Headless chicken]

My agronomist tells me beans are a wish crop. Some times you wish you grew more, other times you wish you never grew them at all. I was looking at it too feed our milkers and he said just buy it from some poor sod that has to grow them

 

[ollie989898]

My agronomist tells me beans are a wish crop. Some times you wish you grew more, other times you wish you never grew them at all. I was looking at it too feed our milkers and he said just buy it from some poor sod that has to grow them

They are a very good feed for cattle as they contain starch and protein.

 

[Fish]

Fudge. Not much else anyone can say to that really.

Have you tried linseed?

Linseed will do the same, as will peas, I’ve got and worn those t shirts.

 

[Banana Bar]

Fudge. Not much else anyone can say to that really.

Have you tried linseed?

Yes, grown it 4 times, usually a 3 year gap between them. It takes me 3 years to forget how awful it is. Currently 3 years since I last grew it! Fortunately my memory seems to be improving! NUM3 will be my break of choice over linseed, spring beans or winter beans.

BB

 

[ollie989898]

Yes, grown it 4 times, usually a 3 year gap between them. It takes me 3 years to forget how awful it is. Currently 3 years since I last grew it! Fortunately my memory seems to be improving! NUM3 will be my break of choice over linseed, spring beans or winter beans.

BB

It is a fudging shame that all of the break crops are now basically borked and no one will grow them. You can't tell me that isn't bad for farming and bad for wildlife in the long term.

 

[Brisel]

Looking at spring beans as a break option for some failed OSR this coming spring. Has anyone experience growing? Heavy land. Understand a fairly low input break crop and have a market for them local. Toying between that and a kings soil structure mix saw good results five years ago the following year when sown into a 1st wheat.

Another note, does anybody have any spring bean seed for sale?

north yorkshire/cleveland
many thanks

I had consistently good yields around 5 t/ha for Vertigo drilled into winter ploughed heavy Teeside clays west of Darlington. They seem to do well in the North East where the climate is kinder than further south. 2 fungicides mostly for rust, occasional pyrethroids where pea & bean weevil bothered the young plants. Add manganese where tank mixes allow. Weed control was 1 graminicide and a pre em of clomazone + pdm or Nirvana where charlock was a problem. Bentazone plus oil as a post em option if using the cheaper pre em.

Not sure about seed but have a word with your grain merchant as they might be able to facilitate the farm to farm trading of feed beans

 

[farmerm]

They are a very good feed for cattle as they contain starch and protein.

Whilst they can be a bad feed for sheep as they can cause fatal gall stones in males... learnt that the hard way.

 

[Gong Farmer]

Should ideally be in by now, but if you can get seed plant ASAP.

 

[Bogweevil]

Must have ample moisture during flowering and especially pod setting for best results - pod shedding is promoted by water stress. Not much you can do about that except choose deep clay rich soils and avoid droughty soils especially in the south and east, and sow early if feasible so roots get down to the drink before dry weather. I have known potato growers, who have rainguns, irrigate them twice at flowering but unclear if cost effective.

 

[jd6420s]

I had consistently good yields around 5 t/ha for Vertigo drilled into winter ploughed heavy Teeside clays west of Darlington. They seem to do well in the North East where the climate is kinder than further south. 2 fungicides mostly for rust, occasional pyrethroids where pea & bean weevil bothered the young plants. Add manganese where tank mixes allow. Weed control was 1 graminicide and a pre em of clomazone + pdm or Nirvana where charlock was a problem. Bentazone plus oil as a post em option if using the cheaper pre em.

Not sure about seed but have a word with your grain merchant as they might be able to facilitate the farm to farm trading of feed beans

My local seed merchant tried doing that a few years ago and ended up with a suspended prison sentence.

 

[Brisel]

My local seed merchant tried doing that a few years ago and ended up with a suspended prison sentence.

For aiding and abetting?