Winter beans

[mdagri]

What is the latest anyone has successfully drilled winter beans? Based East Yorkshire.

 

[Banana Bar]

March. Not really such a thing as winter or spring beans.

 

[Simon Chiles]

What is the latest anyone has successfully drilled winter beans? Based East Yorkshire.

mid April here, harvested Mid September. As @Banana Bar says it doesn’t really matter, just up the seed rate accordingly if you go later.

 

[goodevans]

March. Not really such a thing as winter or spring beans.

There must be a slight difference in strain as we had spring beans from behind combine which were smothering wheat to the extent wholecropping was talked about as herbicide was not applied before heavy clay turned impassable. After the recent hard frosts the beans have been fully extinguished which I hope our winter beans haven't been which were planted less than a month later

 

[Matt77]

Ploughed my tundra beans in last year, because I ran out of patience thinking I must get something in, a 3rd failed across the acreage roughly, drowned etc, so end of March when I could travel again and had completed my other spring crops I filled the drill up with the same bean seed I’d used in November and went out to patch in, more for weed control than anything else, thought I didn’t have much to lose, anyway they shot out of the ground, catch up with the terrible ploughed in ones and at combining, out yielded the others by loads, according to the combine, just had to wait two weeks longer to cut them, a real wish I hadn’t bothered moment with the panic ploughed in beans, but you can’t win all the time!

 

[mdagri]

Didn’t get a chance to get winter beans in. Fields became too wet very quickly by mid October. So I have winter bean seed waiting in the bag. Land only just recovering from recent wet weather. So do I go with winters at the first opportunity or save them for next year and sow some springs that I have?Just need to get them cleaned if I do.

 

[Flat 10]

What is the latest anyone has successfully drilled winter beans? Based East Yorkshire.

Broadcast and cultivated some in this week..... doubt they will be good but hoping to avoid disaster.

 

[Flat 10]

Didn’t get a chance to get winter beans in. Fields became too wet very quickly by mid October. So I have winter bean seed waiting in the bag. Land only just recovering from recent wet weather. So do I go with winters at the first opportunity or save them for next year and sow some springs that I have?Just need to get them cleaned if I do.

Given the choice spring will surely be better?

 

[R J]

There must be a slight difference in strain as we had spring beans from behind combine which were smothering wheat to the extent wholecropping was talked about as herbicide was not applied before heavy clay turned impassable. After the recent hard frosts the beans have been fully extinguished which I hope our winter beans haven't been which were planted less than a month later

I think that winter beans are just a (winter hardy) spring bean

 

[watfordfrosty]

The cold winds have really made mine curl up (beans before anyone posts anything crude)

 

[Zippy768]

The increase seed rate of winter beans to be drilled in March, makes the seed price eye watering!

Keep the winters til next Autumn

 

[spikeislander]

We drilled some winters in spring last year and a day later drilled springs next door.
I was certain there was a difference and if it was down to me I would source some springs and keep winters or put them back in heap if possible.
Don’t ask me why but was a difference, if there wasn’t a difference wouldn’t they just sell “beans”?

 

[beefandsleep]

If you have spring beans on the farm it doesn’t seem to be a difficult decision. Keep the winters in the bag for next autumn.

 

[Simon Chiles]

Ploughed my tundra beans in last year, because I ran out of patience thinking I must get something in, a 3rd failed across the acreage roughly, drowned etc, so end of March when I could travel again and had completed my other spring crops I filled the drill up with the same bean seed I’d used in November and went out to patch in, more for weed control than anything else, thought I didn’t have much to lose, anyway they shot out of the ground, catch up with the terrible ploughed in ones and at combining, out yielded the others by loads, according to the combine, just had to wait two weeks longer to cut them, a real wish I hadn’t bothered moment with the panic ploughed in beans, but you can’t win all the time!

I never think it pays to grovel a crop in, it’s always better to wait for better conditions. This thread

Vespa winter beans

any updates on yield

thefarmingforum.co.uk

backs up your story of the later beans catching up. Don’t forget that last year wasn’t the best one for beans.

 

[Matt77]

I never think it pays to grovel a crop in, it’s always better to wait for better conditions. This thread

Vespa winter beans

any updates on yield

thefarmingforum.co.uk

backs up your story of the later beans catching up. Don’t forget that last year wasn’t the best one for beans.

To be fair it didn't feel that bad a conditions when I did it, good ploughing conditions, my mistake was probably getting the other lad to follow me with the power harrow to knock the tops off to help when combining, as I've ploughed bean's in for many years a few years back, and that helps a lot, but the constant rain following that operation just killed the job!

 

[deleted user 837354]

To be fair it didn't feel that bad a conditions when I did it, good ploughing conditions, my mistake was probably getting the other lad to follow me with the power harrow to knock the tops off to help when combining, as I've ploughed bean's in for many years a few years back, and that helps a lot, but the constant rain following that operation just killed the job!

If it is wet like that I don't think it matters what you plant, winter or spring, drowning is drowning.

 

[Goldilocks]

Last year Tundra winter beans planted in the same field as Lynx spring beans on the same day yielded about 1 t/ha more than the springs. The winters stayed green longer either through (a) They were slower growing and matured slightly later or (b) They got less rust than the Lynx and stayed green longer through less disease.
( Only difference between springs and winters is that winter varieties are frost hardy. )

 

[goodevans]

Did anyone plant spring varieties in the autumn like the agronomists were advising because of the lack of winter seed

 

[Brisel]

Did anyone plant spring varieties in the autumn like the agronomists were advising because of the lack of winter seed

I look forward to the answers to this - springs are far less frost tolerant than winters.

 

[Alwayshappy]

I planted winter beans in March last year and then it was very dry, the beans on the heavy land much better the lighter land just didn’t have enough moisture to keep them going.