can i plant my broadbeans straight into my veg patch now ?

[Jono]

I'm in Essex, and the bloke next to me planted his straight in to the ground ages ago. He's got little seedlings about two inches high now.

Reckon you'll be okay. I'm going to put some mangetout in containers, but waiting until middle of March.

[binley100]

I start mine off in loo rolls at home only cos the meeces get them no matter what.........in fact I start a lot of things off at home except things like carrots and parsnips.......

[The Large One]

transfered 20+ Auqa's into the lottie today
had started them of in greenhouse about 3-4 weeks ago and up to 5" at least so thought i'd pop them in
going to pot up some Bunyards tommorow ready for the second patch in a few weeks time

[VirginVegGrower]

Getting very excited now that the warm(ish) weather is here , am staring out the kitchen window at my new raised bed which is a bit sad and empty.
I have some 'Aquadulce Longpod' broadbeans in pots inside that are doing well , but my neighbour(keen veg gardener) said put some 5 inches or so down into the bed now. Any thoughts ? Have lots of beans and not sure if you can keep spares anyway if I don't use all until next year.
Thanks Grapeviners

You can if the ground is not frozen or too waterlogged. I have planted my three to five inch seedlings and they are doing fine. The lady next to me has direct sown hers. We both have cloches over the plants though.

[Chef_uk]

My first batch from Jan 29th are now 20cm tall so should they go in the ground now as they are starting to get too big for their pots? They have great thick stems though with no sign of leaning. Their bed is covered in weed suppressant membrane so i'm guessing a simple X cut to plant them through will be suffice?

[Two_Sheds]

My first batch from Jan 29th are now 20cm tall

That's pretty tall, and the stems may be relatively soft and prone to snap in a wind. In my first year of growing I was so proud to have broad beans taller than everyone else's ... until I took their cloches off and the first gale snapped them all off at ground level

You could plant them out with some protection (from the wind - cold doesn't bother them)
Plant them in a block with canes at the corners and string going all around

[Chef_uk]

Ok. Will extra twine going from each side creating a sort of grid also help or is that likely to hinder?

[skell43]

Is it ok to pinch off the top leaves of the broad beans , mine are now about 30cm tall and even with supports are looking very unsafe.They just keep growing up towards the light!Is it ok to repot into taller pots also , keep having frosts here so don't want to plant out yet?

[Two_Sheds]

Yes, pinch the tops off and the plants will make more leaves lower down

Like this one: Broady reshoots, Feb 11 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[Chef_uk]

Put my first 12 in the ground today. Tried the cut-an-X-shape-in-the-weed-suppressant method but never got one plant dead center lol but i'm so happy to see them in the ground

[skell43]

Thanks for the pics TwoSheds , will get pinching straight away! Have got a tiny bit of black on some leaves,hope this is normal.

[Two_Sheds]

The black is just where the frost has nipped at the soft leaves - the roots will be unaffected

[LewaK]

I'm not doing broad beans, but my friend at work is and she's eager to get hers in the ground having started them off in pots (or at least I *think* that's what she said!) - having said that here in Norfolk we got a huge frost the other day and from the sounds of it the baby plants might suffer?

[Jono]

We had a big frost here yesterday. I reckon pots is the way forward for a couple of weeks yet.

[Kristen]

my friend at work is and she's eager to get hers in the ground having started them off in pots

Sorry if you know this, but make sure she is putting them outside (somewhere sheltered from the wind) during the day, and back in at night, to "harden" them off. best to do that for at least a week before actually planting them out.