The first lot of broad beans - Witkiem Manita - have now been planted out.
Again we have planted through weed control fabric but this time instead of planting into slits in the fabric, each plant was planted through a cross cut. The pieces of fabric will be used for the same crops next year.
It does take a little more time planting using the fabric but hopefully the extra time spent will be worth the extra effort resulting in less work weeding later and maybe less watering too.
It doesn't look it but these beans only take up a third of the bed so more beans will be added as they are ready to plant out.
Usually pea and bean weevils attack our young broad beans plants creating the telltale notched edges. I think the weevils hide in the soil during the day so I wonder what type of effect growing through the weed control fabric will have on their activities. Probably none at all but I can hope can't I?
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I planted my broad beans a couple of weeks back along with some seeds in the middle of the row for a slightly later crop. Hope your fabric works well for you.
ReplyDeleteSo do I, Jo. More broad beans to add to the bed later
DeleteGood luck with the fabric Sue, I'll be most interested to hear how it works out.
ReplyDeleteLinda
I did work where we used it last year Linda so hope it has a wider application
DeleteThey look nice and healthy, not like the spindly things I ended up planting out after they'd languished in their pots for so long, but they've managed to pull round so I'm still hoping for a decent crop. There always seems to be some pest or another waiting to pounce.
ReplyDeleteGetting some beans off is the main thing, Jo
DeleteYour beans look good. I think you will find the mulch very successful. A lot of your followers also seem to plant plants. In my own case broad beans are one of the few veg I sow direct!
ReplyDeleteNot having our vegetable plot in the garden it's just easier to have things germinate and grow on where we can look after them, Roger
DeleteGood luck with the fabric Sue. I tried this a few years ago when I had my other garden and it worked really well. Have a great weekend. Chel x
ReplyDeleteThat's good to know, Chel
DeleteI hope the fabric works well! Seems a good idea. Cheers, Jenni
ReplyDeleteSo do I Jenni as it will certainly help with maintenance
DeleteYour beans look lovely and lush! And now I know what is nibbling the edges of our broad bean and pea leaves! Are the weevils likely to be very troublesome Sue?
ReplyDeleteAs long as the beans are growing strongly and fairly quickly they don't suffer - other than how they look - from the weevils, Jill. Last year they were a problem with the peas that were sown direct in the soil as the peas didn't grow very quickly so the weevils devastated them.
DeleteI hope it works to keep the weevils away. Those broad beans look lovely - far more lush than mine which are currently suffering from our lack of rain.
ReplyDeleteSurprisingly we haven't had much rain recently either, Liz
DeleteThere is nothing like the first broad bean harvest of the season. I've got a few early flowers on some of mine already!
ReplyDeleteDid you overwinter yours Jules or sow early?
DeleteI don't usually have any problem with bean weevils, but I do get problems with something that attackes the roots of Runner beans and French beans, so I have taken to using nematodes. This has significantly reduced the casualty rate, though I suspect it would not be an economical solution for a big plot like yours.
ReplyDeleteThat is the problem with nematodes, Mark they are expensive and only really suitable for a smallish area. We tried it for slugs once but the problem was if you just treat a small area they keep coming in from outside.
DeleteAll you can hope to do is keep thing sunder a bit of control! What we really need is a plane to keep flying over seeding nematodes over a large area!!!
I wish I'd covered my beans, the weeds are already everywhere! I must say they do look beautifully organised and strong. Fingers crossed for a bumper crop.xxxx
ReplyDeleteFingers and toes crossed Snowbird as the conditions have tailed off since the beans were planted!
DeleteI think I should consider this as an option. I am so tired of weeding. But black fabric will cause the soil to be hot in the tropics. Maybe pink ;).
ReplyDeleteOr green like grass Diana. I guess white would reflect heat best and you could pretend it was snow!
DeleteI am interested to find out how effective this is against the pests!!
ReplyDeleteWe only noticed a little weevil damage yesterday, Tanya but then again our plot neighbour hasn't much damage either and he hasn't used fabric!
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