Janet wrote:
I've always wondered about this nitrogen fixing business. (And I hadn't
realised it applied to peas as well as beans)
almost all legumes do it. If you lift a root and shake off the soil you
can see the small white blobs.

I did wonder if it was them.

Does the root /have/ to be left in, or does it work if you take most of it
out and just leave 'bits' in? Does it help the compost if you compost it?
Why take any of the root out of the soil, when all of it will directly
benefit the next crop? Apart from the nodules, the rest of the root will
decomposed into humus

Why? Because if I'm yanking a bunch of bean plants out to throw in the
compost, they often come out with the root. If I want to leave the root in,
that takes the extra effort of going along and chopping them all. It's
just a laziness thing, really.

And what's a beneficial recipient of post-bean sowing? (I've always
assumed
beans then brassicas, but I rarely get to test my plans out, as things tend
to get planted in the 'whatever spot is available' location)
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/...e.aspx?PID=124

So "yes, brassicas are the right things to do next", then? :-P

Thank you. Useful link, I suspect I've seen it before, or at least the
info, and that's where the idea got stuck to do brassicas after beans.