There,s no profit in beans

[betternextyear]

I would like to grow winter beans on a small scale (20 acres)
but I need a drill, many years ago people used to use carrier ? drills, I think Are they still around for modest money?,
I know they can be spun on and ploughed in but dont really want to do it.

 

[DrWazzock]

Personally I’d grow spring beans and drill them with something like an MF30 after spring ploughing and a once over with the power Harrow. Works well here.
I borrowed a carrier but didn’t use it. Wasn’t convinced the metering rollers could get 300 kg per ha on. And the seed tubes were perished and in a right old state. I would not pay more than a couple of hundred for one. They are still around but showing their age. Some people swear by them but I wasn’t that impressed up close.

 

[DrWazzock]

We always found ploughing to be satisfactory for winter beans. 12” furrows, shallow as it will work. But we moved away from them due to lack of herbicide options and getting rubbished up over winter. Spring beans are vulnerable to a dry spring but so far so good.

 

[MrNoo]

Drilled them for the first time here in 20 odd years, ploughed some in after spinning on (looking ok) then used our very old adapted bean drill on another block (this is a Blanch cultivator with an old Massey seed drill mounted onto it with tubes down the back of the tines) this also has worked very well and then one field where it was too wet was drilled early spring with a Vaddy Box drill, all ok.
The early drilled ones were hammered by a strong & very cold east wind, which turned the fields brown overnight but they have recovered of sorts, some plants out in the middle of the fields are very short and other decent areas are waist high and podding up nicely.
Am looking forward to getting some wheat in next year and see how that goes after the beans.
I am told that if they "wipe their face" then thats a bonus, we shall see.

 

[Munkul]

1st year: got contractor to put them in with a disc drill quite deep. Came through lovely.
2nd year: got a "free" winter crop from the beans that the wholecrop header missed, we ploughed them in and had trouble re-seeding with grass, so they came through ok and survived the winter, and we got a good few tons off with the combine. Really just an accident.
3rd year this spring: combi-drilled 15 acres in after ploughing, probably only 2-3" deep, nothing special. Came through lovely, way better than the barley drilled at same time. It was dry this spring too. We used the combined beans we got from the 2nd year as seed. At flowering stage now and looking really strong.

Conclusion: chuck beans at a field, cover them in some dirt, and they'll grow!

 

[betternextyear]

1st year: got contractor to put them in with a disc drill quite deep. Came through lovely.
2nd year: got a "free" winter crop from the beans that the wholecrop header missed, we ploughed them in and had trouble re-seeding with grass, so they came through ok and survived the winter, and we got a good few tons off with the combine. Really just an accident.
3rd year this spring: combi-drilled 15 acres in after ploughing, probably only 2-3" deep, nothing special. Came through lovely, way better than the barley drilled at same time.

Conclusion: chuck beans at a field, cover them in some dirt, and they'll grow!

Wow Maybe there is profit in beans, Thanks.

 

[DRC]

When we used to grow them I just drilled with the normal power harrow combi drill. Always came ok.

 

[JCfarmer]

Bought an old claydon sr to drill beans, works a treat with good yields last year and no cheaper way to put them in.

 

[Chae1]

Bought an old claydon sr to drill beans, works a treat with good yields last year and no cheaper way to put them in.

No cheaper way than buying a drill specifically to sow them? I imagine there probably is.

 

[JCfarmer]

No cheaper way than buying a drill specifically to sow them? I imagine there probably is.

It also sows osr but no there isn't a cheaper way if you cost spreading, ploughing them in and levelling off.
In spring moisture is conserved for spring beans with this type of drill.
Its just the job.

 

[Barleymow]

Been ploughing them in for years , still do

 

[B'o'B]

It also sows osr but no there isn't a cheaper way if you cost spreading, ploughing them in and levelling off.
In spring moisture is conserved for spring beans with this type of drill.
Its just the job.

How’s your Lamborghini tractor getting on? Does it pull the Claydon alright?

 

[JCfarmer]

How’s your Lamborghini tractor getting on? Does it pull the Claydon alright?

I do like my large Lamborghini, it was too big for the claydon perhaps but should be ideal on the sabretine.

 

[Mc115reed]

I do like my large Lamborghini, it was too big for the claydon perhaps but should be ideal on the sabretine.

The new weaving looks a bit bigger for it

 

[texelburger]

Grew some spring beans,last year,for the first time in years.Popped them in with our Horsch kr express combi drill after cultivating the ground with a joker.Came up very well,had a herbicide,a insecticide and a fungicide. On the light patches of the fields they were barely 2 ft tall at Harvest.Combined chucked in a shed and sold in November based on the moisture they were (17.9 % av) .Yield worked out a 2.39 tons/acre so ,yes,I think they left a little profit.The soil was in lovely condition when drilling the following wheat crop.Got 108 acres in this time

 

[Farma Parma]

Must be 20years since we last had them here & had to wait until it was frosty in mid nov to cut them
Yes spring sown ones Fuego was the variety
Dad said never again & ive not had any since
Rather grow Peas coz atleast there is a chance of cutting them as there ready when the wheat is
Neither yield a lot 1.5-2t is about as good as the peas get but the like the right climate so maybes not such a good idea nowerdays

 

[farmerm]

1st year: got contractor to put them in with a disc drill quite deep. Came through lovely.
2nd year: got a "free" winter crop from the beans that the wholecrop header missed, we ploughed them in and had trouble re-seeding with grass, so they came through ok and survived the winter, and we got a good few tons off with the combine. Really just an accident.
3rd year this spring: combi-drilled 15 acres in after ploughing, probably only 2-3" deep, nothing special. Came through lovely, way better than the barley drilled at same time. It was dry this spring too. We used the combined beans we got from the 2nd year as seed. At flowering stage now and looking really strong.

Conclusion: chuck beans at a field, cover them in some dirt, and they'll grow!

chuck beans at a field, cover them in some dirt and if you get enough rain they'll grow!

 

[GmB]

 

[Munkul]

chuck beans at a field, cover them in some dirt and if you get enough rain they'll grow!

Fair comment... In Cumbria though, that's rarely a problem!

 

[JCfarmer]

Off the footpath walker?