Sowing broad beans
Introduction |
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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.... Tip: Click on a image for a closer look. |
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Preparing the bed |
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| 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 |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Future... |
| Gently weed between the beans as the spring and summer seasons begin. Watch out for black aphids, they are a common pest of broad beans, but can be reduced by pinching out the tops of the broad bean plants once they have reached about 4 foot in height. Most broad bean flowers are white with purple centres. The bean pods begin to form once the flowers have died. Like all beans and peas, broad beans should be watered at their base, preferably in the cooler evenings (that's assuming we get a hot summer). If it is particulary hot, the beans like a fine water mist spray just as the sun is setting. |