Wales isn't one growing climate. The Gwynedd uplands push frost dates weeks later than the Pembrokeshire coast, and most of the country runs wetter and heavier-soiled than the rest of the UK — which matters more for broad beans than frost does, since waterlogging kills more overwintered plants here than cold does.
Autumn sowing runs late October to early November — pick hardy varieties, since Welsh winters are wet more than they're cold. Spring sowing runs February to April once the soil's workable. If your garden sits on heavy clay or floods over winter, skip autumn sowing altogether and go spring; you'll lose fewer plants than you gain from the earlier start.
Overwintering gets you a harvest as early as May and frees up the bed for a summer crop after. It needs a sheltered, well-drained site — raised beds help a lot here, since so much of Wales sits on heavier ground. If your soil's the kind that puddles after rain, spring sowing is the safer call; you'll avoid the winter losses that heavy, wet ground causes more often here than almost anywhere else in the UK.
Autumn: direct outdoors by early November, with cloches or fleece ready for hard frosts. Spring: late February through April, hardening off any indoor-started modules before they go out. Space plants 20cm apart in double rows so air can move through and blackfly's got less to grip onto.
Pick a sunny spot with soil that actually drains — in much of Wales that means raised beds or added grit rather than trusting the ground as it is. Sow 5cm deep, stake or string the plants as they grow, and pinch out the tips once pods start forming; that's what keeps blackfly off and pushes the plant's energy into pods instead of leaf. Keep the soil moist while they're flowering, though in a normal Welsh year rain usually does that job for you.
Yes, and better than most of England, if you get the drainage right. Broad beans are bred for cool, damp climates, and Wales gives them exactly that. The one thing that trips people up isn't the cold — it's a waterlogged bed rotting the roots before spring even arrives.
We've overwintered Aquadulce Claudia on our own plot in Carmarthenshire through three wet winters running. We've never lost one to frost. We've lost a few to standing water after a bad November — which is exactly why we push raised beds over flat ground for anyone growing broad beans in west Wales.
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Only if the roots sit in standing water. The plant itself tolerates cold and rain well; it's waterlogging, not low temperature, that kills overwintered broad beans in Wales. A raised bed or a well-drained slope solves this in most gardens.
Yes, though the colder valley floor runs a few weeks behind the coast. Spring sowing is usually the more reliable choice on valley sites than autumn, since the extra cold delays and can damage overwintered plants.
The Sutton, a dwarf variety bred to stay low and sturdy — it's the one we'd recommend first for an exposed Welsh allotment or a coastal garden that catches the wind.