Ants on Broad Beans

[frogga]

I have just found ants everywhere, crawling all over my broad beans. Are they likely to damage them or do I need to take action?

Andrew

[rustylady]

You need to take a close look at your beans - I bet you have blackfly and the ants are farming them.

[frogga]

I couldn't see any black fly at all, had quite a close inspection, but will check much more thorough in the morning

[WilliamD]

What Rusty said.

The blackfly will be there somewhere. May only be a few for now, but the ants will be putting them up in the tender areas where they draw out the sap, which is what the ants are after.

[Two_Sheds]

Yep, they are on there.

Ants don't eat broad beans, and they don't run up and down them for exercise

[kathyd]

That's weird - I've had ants on mine for ages, and I've checked daily and carefully and still not found any black fly... There are pods forming low down, and lots of flowers all the way up. Better go have yet another look, and maybe think about pinching them out I guess. What is the rule of thumb about pinching the tops out? Is it when they get to a certain height?

[Two_Sheds]

What is the rule of thumb about pinching the tops out? Is it when they get to a certain height?

No, it's when they get smothered in black fly

[Bren In Pots]

I'm eating the last of my bean tops in an omelette at lunchtime.

[Indigo23]

I'm curious as I've never eaten broad bean tops. What do they taste like?

[rustylady]

I'd never tried them either Indigo, but I had some the other night, steamed with a couple of leaves of curly kale. Really nice, try them (but obviously not if they're smothered in blackfly)

[Bren In Pots]

I'm curious as I've never eaten broad bean tops. What do they taste like?

They taste a lot like spinach.

[Indigo23]

Thanks, Bren. I'll have to give them a try as I'm growing my own broadies fort he first time this year.

[frogga]

Had another check this afternoon, ants on all plants but no sign of black fly, however the runner beans have it really bad, soapy water sprayed all over them so hopefully problem solved

[Jamesy_uk]

It tends to be a never ending battle sadly I find, if you can stop the ants getting to the plants with a ring of ant powder or some such it helps. One year I put a few weakling plants in a hanging basket and the ants took the trouble to climb up the wall, along the supporting metalwork and down the chains to deposit them lol.

[sammy_roser]

I have a couple of ants on mine but never noticed any black fly. Will keep a close look out for them.

And nuts to eating the tops, I chucked them on the compost bin