BEANS
Beans are sown in the autumn (usually November) or in the spring in
March.
Normally there is a very small area of spring sown crop but if there
is a wet autumn there will be a much larger acreage sown in
the spring.
This crop can be sown onto rough stubble and then simply ploughed and
left for the seedlings to grow through the ploughed land. This will leave
the field soft and rough.
Beans are a crop that grows very tall so the harvesting machinery does
not need to work close to the ground, this means that the seedbed can be
left loose and coarse with stones that happen to be on the surface being
left there.
When you arrive in a field of beans you will probably find the surface
loose enough to tip a sailplane onto its nose during the ground roll, you
would be unlucky to sustain more than minor scratches but a firmer surface
is to be preferred if possible.
Peas on the other hand have a generally shorter growth habit and often
collapse onto the ground under their own weight at harvest so the seed
bed is prepared to an almost billiard table smoothness and will be much
firmer than beans.
Bean crop will appear to be darker and much more open than cereals
with soil visible through the crop until well into the season when the
crop will be too tall for landing.
Early August
