Broad beans

[WendyC]

Look lovely as long as thy don't fall out of the soll at that angle! Only teasing, hopefully a kind mod will turn your photo.

[Dorothy rouse]

Haha I didn't notice! Its actually a raised bed,so they might! (Fall out of bed!)

[Bex2012]

Sorry for hijacking the thread, but ive got some broanbeans growing in pots... Now i can see roots at thr bottom (thickish ones) but no top growth at all. Is this normal?

[Bren In Pots]

Bex that's normal, I grow mine in look roll tubes and they just about always show roots before top growth.

[Bex2012]

Excellent! Thank you!

[sparrow100]

Please a v quick question, am going to plant,y broad beans out today, they are about 2/3 inches high, do I need to cover them? Netting or Environmesh, or will they now be ok?

Thanks

How bad are bird issues on your plot? We have jackdaws & crows who like nothing better than pulling seedlings out early in the year. They calm down later in the year but I have to cover my broadies till they are 6inches high or lose them as they snap the stems with their beaks. Have to say, I've not heard this from any other grower.

[Muddy_Boots]

The only bird issues on our plots are the pigeons with brassicas, they will scoff them down to leave a stump if you leave them uncovered. Other annoying birds are the magpies that take great pleasure in pulling out your onion sets after you have just planted them (planted mine last week) so we have to just cover them with plant fleece to stop the blighters so the onions have fighting chance to root.

Other than that we don't have any real issues with blackbirds pinching your raspberries or strawberries but I net mine as a matter of course.

[Root66]

My overwintered broad beans are flowering well but only about 1.5 - 2ft high. They are saved seed (from someone else) and so not sure on the variety, but I am sure his were a lot taller last year, from my bad memory. I was just wondering whether I should be pinching the tops out soon as they are flowering already with bees around them, or leave them to keep working and potentially get taller.

[Muddy_Boots]

I was just wondering whether I should be pinching the tops out soon as they are flowering already with bees around them, or leave them to keep working and potentially get taller.

I would leave them at the present time, one of the reasons to pinch the tops out are to deter Blackfly from attacking them as they tend to go to the top of the plant and multiply. If you pinch them out now you will just be reducing the potential volume of crop for no gain at the present time as the blackfly have not appeared yet, well none were showing on mine on Sunday.

[Alison]

I've never pinched the tops out as there doesn't seem o be a black fly problem round here.

[Root66]

Ah so pinching out is just to help prevent blackfly. I thought it would improve yields as the plant's energy would be focused on producing pods instead of growing as well.