broad bean question

[BroadRipple]

I've ranted somewhere else about my very unproductive broad bean patch...but can anyone please tell me when's too early to pull them out and put something else there instead? i need the space and if they're not going to produce much more (hardly any flowers i can see) i want to know! Thanks

[Two_Sheds]

Why haven't you had a crop? (Mine've never failed, I thought they were an easy crop...?)

What and when did you sow? Where?

[BroadRipple]

Hello TwoSheds, thanks for answering...
Aquadulce Claudia over winter. Looked after them, black fly not at all bad...they grew cheerfully to about 2-3 feet...but maybe planted them too close together/interplanted with garlic, because now they're a tangly mess and though I did have some beans, not at all many.
They were originally about 7/8 inches apart in roughly a square metre (don't laugh) but have flopped I confess. Should I have been feeding them? They're on London clay with compost etc. added, some sun, etc etc...maybe, and here's the big question, they're just not very realistic if you don't have much space?
I'd expected lots per plant. And I love eating them so grrr.

[Two_Sheds]

They should be about 9" apart, in full sun...

[BroadRipple]

well they ain't. so if there are hardly any flowers shall I just pull them up, or wait?

[Two_Sheds]

If they're in shade, I'd expect them to be tall, thin, spindly, floppy ... if so, yes pull them out. Lettuce would do well in the shade

[BroadRipple]

floppy is the word...they're in partial sun I'd say. I suppose the ? is this - when the flowers stop appearing, is that the end of it? or do they keep flowering? can't believe I don't know this...

[Two_Sheds]

Flowers appear, get pollinated, flowers blacken & shrivel then beans appear very quickly...

[BroadRipple]

yeah but no but...sorry obviously not being very clear. what I mean is this...will MORE flowers appear now, or do they all appear in one batch and then, once they've gone/pollinated etc no more will grow? does that make sense? just trying to work out if more flowers, therefore beans, can grow, or if it's all over now...

[Two_Sheds]

If they've been in over winter, I think the game's up. I took your post to mean that you'd not had any beans, but have you had some?

Mine have been harvested, pulled up, composted and replaced with Frenchies already. Sorry. I just think your patch is probably too shady for fruiting (beaning) plants

[Shadylane]

Are Aquadulce supposed to be that prolific though? I've grown them twice now and they don't seem to grow very tall and so don't seem to produce loads. Had a few meals off them but not enough to freeze. I'm thinking next year I'll grow these as an early ( earlier than the neighbours bunyards) and also grow some taller ones for freezing.

[singleseeder]

"Broad beans interplanted with garlic".......... some say that beans and alliums should be kept apart. Not sure if others here have a view on this.

[Nicos]

"Broad beans interplanted with garlic".......... some say that beans and alliums should be kept apart. Not sure if others here have a view on this.

I've never tried mixing them- but this also says they shouldn't be grown together....

List of companion plants - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Two_Sheds]

I grow beans & onions together with no problems
I like Aquedulce - none of my broadies gets very tall because my site is so windy, but they have about a dozen pods per plant I'd say. They do better for me than The Sutton anyway

[Shadylane]

My runners had onions growing around their feet last year and it didn't seem to bother either of them. Me thinks it's a load of tootle.