Broad bean pollination issues

[jimbojetset]

hello all!
my aquadulce claudia's survived the winter outside and are now four foot high and have been in bloom for weeks!
all good news, except now the flowers are starting to fall off, but very few seem to be leaving behind little pods
should i be worrying about this?
also should i maybe think about some artificial pollination? and how should i go about it?
or is it that there just aren't enough bees, and should i try and attract more?
x

[SarzWix]

If you want to try doing it yourself a small artists paintbrush or a cotton bud might do the trick. But, my beans were the same last year - the first few flowers fell off without being pollinated, but they soon kicked into action. Might be worth waiting a bit, I have seen quite a few bees, hover-flies etc in the last couple of days.

[jimbojetset]

cheers sarz! i will stop panicking!
x

[Rocketron]

It's the same here. loads of flowers (many more than spring sown last year, but no beans as yet).

[kate&rob]

always a good idea to encourage pollinating insects to the garden though.

[jimbojetset]

yes i'm going to try and get more in!
bought marigolds and nasturtiums yesterday - any more recc's?
any good all year round flowerers?