Growing broad beans

Introduction

Some time in between the rain, snow, hailstone, wind and sunshine, April is the time for sowing seeds! This month's advice is all about sowing broad beans. Forget about those overcooked grey-green beans you used to leave on the side of your plate and think about same day picked and steamed beans sauteed in butter, onion and bacon....

Preparing the bed

You don't need a really fine soil to grow broad beans, the beans are big and once they start growing they'll find there way to the surface. It is a good idea though to turn over the soil and break up any clumps before raking to level out the soil and remove any stones. Fleece over the soil for about a week to give the soil underneath time to warm up.

Making the drills

Broad beans can be planted in single rows (called drills) but you get better results with double drills, that's two rows planted together and supported on the outside. Using a hoe, make two drills 5cm deep, 20 cm apart.

 Planting the beans

The broad beans should be planted 20cm apart, with the black mark facing upwards. Once you have filled each drill, use the hoe to cover the beans. There is a wide variety of broad bean available. For this guide, Masterpiece Green Longpod is the chosen variety.

Staking

Insert a stake at each end of each drill. The broad beans will need supporting once there are about 2-3 feet high. Simply tie string around all of the 4 stakes to provide support all the way around the beans.

Cover Up

Because of the changing April weather, it's best to fleece over the beans until they start to peep through. Once the risk of frost (or snow!) has passed, the fleece can be replaced with netting.

The growing season

Once the broad beans begin to grow it's essential to ensure they are well supported, a strong wind and they'll be blown over or worse, snapped. Tie some string around one end stake about 7 inches from the soil, when the broad beans are roughly 8 - 10 inches high. Loop the string around the other end stake and being back to the first stake on the other side of the broad beans. The string should now completely surround the broad beans. It shouldn't be slack.

As the broad beans grow, repeat this process every 8 -10 inches (20 - 25 cms) to ensure the beans are well supported.

Harvesting

Broad bean pods are ready when they "drop", they form pointing outwards and upwards, when the beans are fully grown the pods will hang downwards. You can't eat the pod.

Eating

Simply remove the beans from their pod and steam or boil gently for a few minutes. If you don't like the "metallic" taste of broad beans, drop the beans in boiling water for 2 mins, then plunge them into a bowl of cold water. When the shell crinkles just push the bean out of the shell and return to the pan of boiling water for another minute.