Broad Beans - Aquadulce

[Mi Jardín]

I am having a disapointing crop from my broadies!
I have ten plants that are about four foot tall, but I am not having as much to pick as I thought I would. Maybe my expectations are too high, but I thought I'd be getting enough for a couple of meals a week for the two of us?

I haven't seen flowers since early spring, but there are new beans coming so I guess there must be some. I gave them a feed about a week ago, how often should I be doing this? Every week? Every fortnight?

Any thoughts would be gratefully received!

[Capsid]

I grow both overwintered and spring sown broadies. Last year the spring sown plants produced a bigger yield than the overwintered ones; this year it seems to be the reverse situation, but you never know until it's time to pick them. I always think I will get a poor yield but I find there is more than enough.

I don't bother to feed them apart from a sprinkling of Growmore or chicken pellets when they are planted out. They fix their own nitrogen anyway.

[onefivenine]

I don't bother to feed them apart from a sprinkling of Growmore or chicken pellets when they are planted out. They fix their own nitrogen anyway.

People invariably say this but isn't nitrogen just for leaf growth? Does the fruit not need more potassium? Or is it just tomatoes etc that fall into that category?

Edit:
Sorry just to add a bit more, this very question has had me wondering for a while, and I've been giving my Sutton dwarf broad beans the occasional feed with Tomorite. It doesn't seem to be doing them any harm and the pods are growing nicely in 12" containers.

[Two_Sheds]

I've never fed broadies in my life. I always get more beans than we can realistically eat.

Where are you Mi Jardin? can you put your location into your profile - it might have a bearing on the problem.

[onefivenine]

I've never fed broadies in my life.

See what I mean!

TS - do you think it makes any difference growing them in containers, as far as feeding is concerned?

[Two_Sheds]

Dunno. It depends what compost they are in. Something like coir will have no nutrients whatsoever, but ordinary MPC is good for about 6 weeks.
I only grow toms and chillies in containers, and they get a weak feed every fortnight once they start fruiting.

[Mi Jardín]

Thanks for the replies....I am in Colchester Two Sheds.

Mine in the ground..heavy clay with quite a bit of compost added in the early spring.
They were put in in very early spring.

When do you dig them up?

[jacob]

I was grumbling about this a couple of weeks ago -- I reckon I'm going to average just over 2 pods per plant from 30 odd plants. Ranging from 0 to 5 per plant. It sounded like others were getting from about the same up to a dozen pods per plants.

I'm sure 2 p/p is not good, but I'm not quite sure what I'm doing wrong, perhaps not enough compost dug into the soil? Testing last year suggested it was a bit low in K.

[Noodles]

My broad beans are baffling me at the moment. I have one lot at home (in a raised bed filled with a topsoil / compost mix) and one at the lottie. They were all from the same packet of seeds, some in each site were sown in the greenhouse and then planted out and some at each were sown straight into the ground.

The ones at home have grown bigger but with far, far fewer pods on them (about 6 per plant so far). The ones at the lottie (which we only got in May, prior to which is has been grass for years so the soil wasn't in great shape) have grown slightly smaller but have so many pods on them we don't know what to do with them all. Bizarre!

[Two_Sheds]

The ones at home have grown bigger but with far, far fewer pods on them (about 6 per plant so far). The ones at the lottie...have so many pods on them we don't know what to do with them all.

Shade and too much nitrogen will cause lots of leaf growth at the expense of pods.

The ones at the lotty are probably shorter because the wind batters them (mine does).

Mine are grown in sandy free-draining soil on an exposed windy plot. They are short, but boy are they prolific. I don't feed them, and don't water them (apart from the initial planting out, when they get puddled in well).

[Noodles]

Thanks Two_Sheds. The ones at home are in shade for a part of the day so I'm guessing that has affected them as you say. A shame but the lottie ones are producing a ridiculous amount of pods so that is more than making up for it!

[afrench108]

hi, i grew mine in tubes made from newspaper rolled up, bout 6 inch's tall and 4 layers thick, planted halfway down on windowsill in feb, placed in the plot as they were and placed cane to 2 plants, put in 3rows of 5 canes and another 2 seeds per cane, i have never had them grow so fast,tall and full of pods, now the seeds are catching the original ones too, soon to be picked...I did manure and add leaves,cardboard and grass cuttings about a foot deep before i planted so it seemed to make the difference this year..hope this helps

[Matt.]

I grew half a dozen of these this year and got about 5 to 8 pods per plant. However they tasted bloomin' awful so I gave them all away. Apparently the recipient thought they tasted as they should but these were really bitter and rough texture. Is this like all broan beans? Are there any sweeter varieties of should I just concentrate on peas?!