Broad Beans

[Doreen]

Please can you tell me if and when to water the Broad Bean seeds I have planted today in modules (inner cardboard from toilet rolls), I have put them in the greenhouse. I have already planted some outside in November, which seem to be doing well, I cut the bottom off 2 litre milk containers and stuck it in the ground round the young plant which seems to have protected them. This is the first time I have grown Broad Beans, is there any special tip for having a good harvest. Thank you.

[Two_Sheds]

Water them if they seem to be dry. It's a bit early for me to be planting broadies yet ... I'll wait till end of Feb

I soak my bean seeds overnight before planting, then they don't need watering again until the seedling is up. More plants die from over-watering than under-watering

[Doreen]

Thank you, I didn't know about soaking the seeds, also does it matter which way up I plant them, am I better soaking any other seeds? I am new to vegetable gardening, but did manage success with carrots in hanging baskets last year, also fun with runner beans, even successfully froze some beans.

[aylithuk]

Hi Doreen

As Two_Shed says just water them when you notice they are going dry.

I have 6 very healthy Dwarf Broadbeans growing in my cold greenhouse and
doing very well (Planted in Dec) I am currently watering them about once a
week

Aylith

[bubblewrap]

I have two rows that were planted out at the end of November and were all right this morning.

[Two_Sheds]

Thank you, I didn't know about soaking the seeds, also does it matter which way up I plant them, am I better soaking any other seeds?

You don't have to soak them, but I do it (sprout them on kitchen towel) so I can see which ones are viable before I plant them ... I sow 100s of beans, and don't want to waste time & compost on those that are already dead.

Some folks do it for parsnips too, because parsnip seed is always iffy

It's the root that sprouts first, so plant that pointing down, or you'll get funny twisty stalks

[Doreen]

Thank you all, and happy planting.

[Alison]

I don't soak any of mine unless they instructions particularly say so as I'm never organised enough two days in a row to do the soaking one day and the planting the next. Beans are very easy to grow (all types in my experience) and it's pretty rare to find germination problems unless they've been stored badly.

[sweetcorn]

Last year I was organised and sowed broad beans outside in November, this year I didn't get round to sowing them. I was interested to see that some of you have planted in greenhouse over the last couple of weeks or so - have you done that before? Is it effective? I have some Sutton dwarf seeds that I was going to plant in about March, but if I can get them started now, will it be advantageous??? When do you plant them outside?

[fwuffydragon]

Last year I was organised and sowed broad beans outside in November, this year I didn't get round to sowing them. I was interested to see that some of you have planted in greenhouse over the last couple of weeks or so - have you done that before? Is it effective? I have some Sutton dwarf seeds that I was going to plant in about March, but if I can get them started now, will it be advantageous??? When do you plant them outside?

I'm about to start sowing mine (check your packet for dates!) and will plant them out once they're a few inches high and the frosts have subsided a bit. If worried, then make sure you've hardened them off before you plant them out, and maybe think about cloching them.

I also did some in pots in December - they're about 6-8 ins high and in one of those little zip-up greenhouses on my patio. *reminds self to repot them as they're getting a bit big!*