Are 'winter' varieties important when sowing beans & peas in late autumn/fall?

Question

This list of jobs for November suggests sowing peas and broad beans. The comments section is more specific about varieties to go for, namely: Aquadulce for Broadbeans and Douce Provence for Peas.

How important is it to use the suggested varieties? Would using any old beans/peas result in nothing at all, or just produce slightly inferior results (or something in between)?

Should I expect germination and a small plant over winter, or do the seeds just sit there in the ground only for something to appear in Feb/Mar?

The comments also suggest they go straight into the ground, but presumably starting off in pots will also work?

Answer 1

It is important to use the given varieties or similar ones for over-wintering. These varieties are bred for this purpose, while others may not be and might die when the frost hits.

Old vs. new seed: You can test if the seed still grows. Use kitchen paper, fold it like an accordion (/\/\/\), wet it, put the seed on it and wait. If seed is thick or hard (like beans), you could put everything into a jar with some holes in the cover. If the seed is very old, you will have only inferior germination or none at all.

After seeding, I would expect a small plant over winter which starts to grow in spring. But I'm not sure on this point.

Seeding into pots should also work. You could try both now and next winter, you'll know what the better way is.