How many broad bean flowers will turn into pods?

[Jo Sara]

I've got 9 plants of crimson-flowered broad beans in my veg patch, and they started flowering about a month ago. They are now about 50cm tall (eventual height is 90cm), and they are still flowering well. So I just had a look to see if I could see any mini bean pods. On the plant I was checking I could only find one possible, it's still very small. And a quick glance at the rest of the plants showed a similar story. The oldest flowers on the bottom part of the stem are just falling off leaving nothing behind them.

There's always bees around the plants, but I think they are doing what I read on here in another thread (I can't find it because the search function doesn't seem to work for me), drilling into the base of the flower for the nectar rather than entering the flower, as I can see loads of flowers with a small hole at the base. I realise this might be partly to blame, and my variety, being an old one, might not be the heaviest cropper, but even so, I would have expected after a month of flowering a few more pods showing.

So, just out of interest, how many of the flowers (in a percentage) would you expect to turn into a pod on a broad bean plant?

[rustylady]

Most of them, to be honest, if growing conditions are good. Down here it's been too dry.

[chris]

They're self pollinating anyway, so will have mist likely been pollinated before the bee gets to the flower.

Has it been cool near you? They're tender plants, and as rusty lady says, they'll set freely if conditions are favourable.

[Jo Sara]

Thanks for the replies.

Rustylady, it's really dry up here too. I know you probably wouldn't believe it if you watch BBC's weather (they always have a line of showers coming over this region
) but it hasn't rained properly here for months. A couple of light showers in the last week is all we've had. But, I've been out watering the garden nearly every other day since early April and my veg bed looks fairly healthy.

Chris, we've had a couple of reasonably chilly nights, down to about 5 degrees. The plants have been out since about mid-March so they've had that boiling April, and May hasn't been that bad here. The last week or so has been a bit cloudy but not too cold in the day. Considering on the packet it says you can sow the seed from Feb, I don't think they've had it too bad. The plants look healthy enough.

Maybe I'm being a bit impatient. I did a bit of research on this variety, and I won't see a harvest until July. How long do the pods take to get to full size from when the flower falls away?

I didn't know they were self-pollinating. That's solved the bee not going into the flower problem I though I had. And from my research it says this variety crops well, so maybe I'll have to have a look in another couple of weeks.

[Two_Sheds]

They are self-pollinating to a certain extent, but you will only get a few beans if they don't get any insect activity at all: the right kind of bees will greatly increase the crop.
I've got a fabulous crop of bumbles this year, 100s, all different kinds, on my flowering phacelia (green manure). I'll put a video up later

My broad beans have been fewer than usual, due to the drought & heat, but there's enough for a few meals