Broad beans

tumbledown's picture
tumbledown Posted at 07:54 on Mon, 09/06/2008
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Intro
Intro picture: 
Intro: 

Broad beans are very easy to grow, and are delicious when eaten young and tender. The first pick of the year, tossed in butter, is wonderful

Location and soil
Type of soil: 

Broad beans thrive in well-manurered soil but will tolerate almost any kind of soil as long asd it is not water-logged.

Location: 

A sunny location is best

Sowing seeds
Seed picture: 
Sowing broad beans
Sowing seeds: 

If you want an early crop, sow the seed of a hardy variety outdoors the previous autumn. Or you can sow seed from early spring onwards.

You can also sow the seed under cover, making sure you harden the seedlings off before planting them out. Aim for a series of small, successional sowings of eight to 12 seeds.

Sow individually at a depth of 5cm (2in), around 23cm (9in) apart. They take nine to ten weeks to mature.

Looking after the crop
General care: 

When the flowers have wilted to black and the first pods are about to appear, pinch out the little cluster of leaves at the top of the plant, to arrest further growth and direct the plant's energy into developing pods. Keep watered in dry weather.

Harvesting the crop
Harvesting: 

Pick the pods as soon as the beans inside have swollen. Eat them at once or freeze them for later use

Varieties
Variety description: 

In a limited space: Sutton, a dwarf variety.

Variety description: 

Autumn: Aquadulce Claudia

Variety description: 

Spring: Express

Pests
Pest or disease: 

Pea and bean weevil

Pest or disease: 

Chocolate spot

Pests

Potato Pete Posted at 07:29 on Sat, 10/18/2008

Blackfly are a common problem with broad beans, though even heavily infested plants will still produce an adequate crop of beans in my experience. Blackfly and other aphids are easily controlled using a soap- or fatty acid-based organic
insecticide, or you can make your own by diluting some washing-up liquid in a sprayer. Pinching out the tips of the plants is also supposed to help control blackfly, but I haven't personally found that it makes much of a difference.

Pests

Gra Posted at 15:41 on Fri, 01/15/2010

Growing nasturiums nearby will attract the blackfly away from your broad beans. We suffer far, far less problems with blackfly than our neighbours and they are edible, attractive and also cabbage white butterflies prefer them to brassicas.
Only problem is that they are self-seeding and unless hoed off when small can overrun the place.

Nasturshiums and broad beans

OOEricOO Posted at 18:24 on Thu, 08/11/2011

Hi Gra, might give that a try next year.