Source of field beans?

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Source of field beans?

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Woodburner

Joined: 28 Apr 2006
Posts: 2904
Location: Essex

Posted: Sun Sep 28, 08 4:12 pm Post subject: Source of field beans?
Field beans are a recommended green manure to sow at this time of year and would suit my needs perfectly, but I can't find a supplier. :S Can anyone point me in the right direction, please? Vetch is a good alternative but I can't find a supplier for that either. :S

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45745
Location: Essex

Posted: Sun Sep 28, 08 4:15 pm Post subject:
Kings Seeds (Kelvedon) or Edwin Tucker

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Sun Sep 28, 08 4:16 pm Post subject:
Vetch

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35146
Location: Devon

Posted: Sun Sep 28, 08 5:17 pm Post subject:
Are these the things which look superficially like broad bean plants, but spindlier? If so, they sow them at our apiary because the bees like the flowers. I can find out where they get their seeds from if you like.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sun Sep 28, 08 6:25 pm Post subject:
I managed to get a handful from a kind farmer and grew them this year. If there are any harvest fields near you a farmer might let you collect any that remain near the edges? Does anyone eat them? I gather the best condition field beans are often sold for human food. In the middle east they eat them roasted or fried like peanuts and in other traditional cooking. Does anyone know any more?

lily

Joined: 07 Oct 2005
Posts: 105

Posted: Sun Sep 28, 08 7:05 pm Post subject:
Field beans are available from https://www.organiccatalog.com

gil
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 18434

Posted: Sun Sep 28, 08 7:53 pm Post subject:
Garden Organic do vetch and other green manures, but dunno whether field beans

sprog

Joined: 28 Sep 2008
Posts: 2
Location: North Norfolk

Posted: Sun Sep 28, 08 8:08 pm Post subject:
They are in Kings' catalogue at £1.50 for 6 sq m, £10.50 for 125 sq m. www.kingsseeds.com

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35146
Location: Devon

Posted: Sun Sep 28, 08 9:17 pm Post subject:
Hello Sprog. Welcome to the site

Woodburner

Joined: 28 Apr 2006
Posts: 2904
Location: Essex

Posted: Mon Sep 29, 08 9:10 pm Post subject:

Thanks everyone I will go with Kings, not sure how I missed them. I think they have updated since I last looked. Tuckers are still out of stock.
Haven't seen any being grown locally this year, or I'd have done a bit of gleaning.

Jamanda wrote:

Are these the things which look superficially like broad bean plants, but spindlier? If so, they sow them at our apiary because the bees like the flowers. I can find out where they get their seeds from if you like.

Pretty sure that's them I've not looked really closely but the flowers certainly smell heavenly.

RichardW

Joined: 24 Aug 2006
Posts: 8443
Location: Llyn Peninsular North Wales

Posted: Mon Sep 29, 08 9:38 pm Post subject:
moles?

nettie

Joined: 02 Dec 2004
Posts: 5888
Location: Suffolk

Posted: Mon Sep 29, 08 10:44 pm Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

Does anyone eat them? I gather the best condition field beans are often sold for human food.

Yes, when I lived near Chelmsford a nearby farmer grew them. They seeded themselves everywhere and my friend and i used to glean loads of them from the tracks and hedgerows the year after they had been harvested by the farmer. We got them young, by the basketful, and they were almost as good as baby broad beans.

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Tue Sep 30, 08 7:56 am Post subject:

nettie wrote:

We got them young, by the basketful, and they were almost as good as baby broad beans.

The young bit is important I think; if you leave them too long then they're not a patch on broad beans but young I've had tasty foraged ones. Handy to forage, good as a green manure or fodder, I'd have thought, but out of preference I'd grow broad beans as a crop.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Tue Sep 30, 08 8:50 am Post subject:

nettie wrote:

Treacodactyl wrote:

Does anyone eat them? I gather the best condition field beans are often sold for human food.

I'll try a few fresh and green than next year then. I'm mainly interested in recipes for them dried as it's they seem to be a useful crop where we can sow a large patch, harvest the best ones dried to ourselves and use the rest for animal feed, all while adding nitrogen to the soil.

cassy

Joined: 04 Feb 2008
Posts: 1047
Location: South West Scotland

Posted: Fri May 24, 13 11:44 am Post subject:
Please excuse the thread resurrection; I was googling to find out whether it was worth letting my field beans flower and once again found the answer on DS. Thanks all.

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