Broad Beans - Grow Your Own Wants Your Advice!

[rustylady]

Welcome to the Vine, elijon. I soak all my large seeds too, and have found it improves germination. However I have never overwintered broad beans, having found that I get crops just as early from a spring sowing.

[Kimbo]

Last year I grew Suttons and Materpiece Longpod and had a reasonable crop. This year I am using up the last of the Sutton seeds and I have also put in Bunyards Exhibition, Imperial Longpod and Jubilee Hysor. I have stared mine off in modules in my mini greenhouse and then moved to my large plastic greenhouse and have had very good germination. Some of them are due to be planted out today into one of my raised beds and I have more to sown in their place. I have a canopy and fleece at the ready just in case.

and yes I LOVE BROAD BEANS.

[Two_Sheds]

My autumn sown Aquedulce Claudia are doing...okay. I probably have 50% left, after the snails, wind and bean weevils have all had a go. We seem to have a swarm of bean weevil this year (cos of the mild winter?) = I am picking off and crushing a dozen a day.
Red Epicure are my favourite, for colour

[Paulottie]

Thanks twosheds. i've never seen a bean weevil b4. although I think i have lost pea seedlings to them in the past- Notches in leaves? I will have a look tomorrow now that you have warned me. thought it might get me in practice for the asparagus beatles this summer!-Where do they hide? & do I look at night or daytime? Hessayon suggests hoeing round plants during April and May although he doesn't say how often or why it helps.

I must say i have never noticed snails being a big problem and we've got enough of 'em but i have had a few just snapped of and lying on the ground this year (not black leg)... any ideas who the villain is?

[Two_Sheds]

Bean weevil = notches in leaves. Turns the edges black too. Not usually a problem, but this year are PROLIFIC! Look for them in the leaves, during daytime, little brown beetles about size of a big ant.
Hoeing will expose any pests in the soil ...so you can dispatch them.

[summer]

I think I shall be Broad Beaned out this year. The ones I have grown in Rootrainers are ready to go out (yes, I know rootrainers are expensive but this is the third year I have used them) and cos I found a packet of very old seed I put those straight into the garden. Had given up on them and was going to use the space when yesterday noticed lots of little shoots just pushing thru' the soil. Now to get passed the black fly and the Bean weevil (which I hadn't heard of before).
Summer

[goddess]

meet max and his wife

Dear DV,max's plot will be an interesting thread,iam interested of any tips from people like max who are experts.his plot was so neat and tidy from the foto nevermind the broadbeans.g

[stigoftheplot]

I sow some late autumn /early winter, then again late Jan/Feb through to early April. I'll probably put a few more in later too to fill in any gaps or just out of greed (cant grow enough). This year I've put poached egg plants between the rows which is supposed to help with fly, and I've read that putting upturned pots of straw on sticks amongst strawberries to catch earwigs, and then moving the pots into the broad bean patch works as the earwigs will eat blackfly too. I'll try anything if it means I get more beans!!

[muckdiva]

Thanks twosheds. i've never seen a bean weevil b4. although I think i have lost pea seedlings to them in the past- Notches in leaves? I will have a look tomorrow now that you have warned me. thought it might get me in practice for the asparagus beatles this summer!-Where do they hide? & do I look at night or daytime? Hessayon suggests hoeing round plants during April and May although he doesn't say how often or why it helps.

I must say i have never noticed snails being a big problem and we've got enough of 'em but i have had a few just snapped of and lying on the ground this year (not black leg)... any ideas who the villain is?

Oh dear, I found one of my precious Crimson Flowered broadies (only had 13 seeds - must have been unlucky) wilted and almost snapped in two this morning. I'm praying the others will survive. Could it be bean weevil damage, or slugs?? I've surrounded the plants with Slug Stopper, as there were a few holes in the leaves, but maybe it's not them at all.

[Paulottie]

It really irkes me when you get packets like that- i've got a packet of cauli seeds from Fothergills with 17 (not75) seeds at the mo. and i've had 7 swede seeds from them before!! they are not the only company with dodgy scales though.

The plants were cleanly snapped off. ie not blackleg and not obviously eaten

The other thing it we thought might have snapped off the plants is a deer that makes a nuicence of itself on the plot. Not by eating the beans(don't seem to like them) but by trampling on the way to dining on my brassicas.

Still haven't found a bean weevil- perhaps we are just lucky or my eyesight is going.

[Protea]

Bean weevil = notches in leaves. Turns the edges black too. Not usually a problem, but this year are PROLIFIC! Look for them in the leaves, during daytime, little brown beetles about size of a big ant.
Hoeing will expose any pests in the soil ...so you can dispatch them.

Pea and Bean weevils are my nightmare - the broad beans i planted out a few weeks ago are badly notched i noticed at the wekend, although i think they'll survive as they were strong plants when i put them in, however the extra seeds i planted to finish off the row i now don't expect to see at all

They're the same with my peas - i haven't a hope of a direct sowing, and after so many fruitless attempts last year its the guttering system or nothing for me - so sad

[Paulottie]

Just come back from a wander round the lottie. Everybodys bb's are notched. I found only four weavils. They seemed to drop off when they saw me and two of those were having it off so they were bit slow to notice me -I didn't even manage to catch them. very depressing.

[eskymo]

I sow my broad beans in October or November and place a cold frame over the patch I've sown them in. I always soak them the night before sowing now, since I got advice to do that from another grape. this year my crop is a bit wonky as we had a bout of frosty weather at the time I normally take the lid off the cold frame and the plants were struglling under the weight and they all have bendy stems now. I find that over wintering them like this does make them more hardy. We have very strong sea winds here and I need strong plants in order for them to survive.

Whenver I've planted BB in pots in the GH at the beginning of the year to plant out after frosts have past, I find that I don't get as good a yeild...so I alwys plant in the winter.

[Waffler]

A question about broad beans:
I sowed a few seeds in Autumn and now have... wait for it... 1 broad bean plant! I have also sown a few in the last few weeks, which are coming along nicely. What I want to know is when I'll be able to harvest any. Ok, so I'm not going to get many off my single plant, but it stands about a foot tall and has had flowers on for ages. It doesn't seem to have grown for a long time though. Any thoughts?
Think I'll plant out the young Spring-sown plants today.

[Flummery]

Realistically it's probably going to be July.