The versatile Broad bean!

[unclefudgly]

Love my Broad Beans! Overwintered one crop in the polytunnel as a test. Worked really well and beans were harvested last week.



Outdoor crop planted last October should be ready next week

[Bren In Pots]

They do look good, I've got bean envy unclefudgly

[Birdie Wife]

If you take the tops off to discourage blackfly, you can make a lovely green soup with the tops. A versatile veg indeed!

[purplekat]

It looks like you're getting some beans now but just to say pollination is likely to be low at the moment. Broad beans are normally pollinated by bumblebees and here at least, the first generation of worker bees (the teeny tiny bumbles) are only just coming out. The prolonged cold earlier in the year meant the queens started their nests late, hopefully all this good weather should help get the numbers up though

[chillithyme]

VC. I agree, broadbeans should be a permanent feature, I normally hate broadbeans, but after growing them on my new allotment I now am obsessed baby broadbeans taste amazing straight from the pod

[sandfields]

I love Broad Beans, so does my wife. My eldest boy loves them too, but my two younger ones don't. Now I almost said they're a bit Marmite, which reminded me of this https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-...s/faq-20058035 on the dangers of tricyclic anti-depressants and Marmite and, broad beans.
I must say that the range of my favourite foods that cause problems with those drugs make me relieved that I don't need them.

[veggiechicken]

Has anyone sown their broad beans yet?
I'm sorting my beans tonight in readiness - not sure which varieties or where I'll sow them - but I'm thinking hard.

[Jay-ell]

I haven't sown any yet - I'm contemplating using half the area to sow potatoes instead.

[veggiechicken]

Can you do both?
Plant BBs now and spuds in the new year in between the BBs. The BB roots will feed the spuds and you can eat the pods before the spuds are ready to dig up.

[kitty12345]

I've got wizard field beans to sow too VC. I think they will go in the ground this weekend. More so for green manure, but I'll keep some back for eating

[veggiechicken]

I've been checking the sowing dates for BB "Stereo".

Mr J Wong has renamed it "Mangetout Broad bean - Stereo" .James says - ‘The finest tasting of all varieties, pick young pods when tender and eat them like mangetout’. (£2.99 for 35 seeds).

On that basis you can call all BBs Mangetout because they all have pods that can be eaten when young.
............and Marshalls sell them for £1.99 for 60 seeds.

I do wish that Mr Wong would stop trying to confuse everyone by adding catchy names to normal seeds.

[Ognen09]

Has anyone sown their broad beans yet?
I'm sorting my beans tonight in readiness - not sure which varieties or where I'll sow them - but I'm thinking hard.

Hi VC I planted mine on the 15/10! Aqueduct Claudia. The others will go in during the spring. No sign of anything yet.

[Jay-ell]

Can you do both?
Plant BBs now and spuds in the new year in between the BBs. The BB roots will feed the spuds and you can eat the pods before the spuds are ready to dig up.

Now that would be the sensible way - but we're talking about me here

[veggiechicken]

I saw your thread after I posted and I think it would be easier to plant them all at once anyway. Plant a spuds and a couple of broad beans in the same hole. Sounds like a totally unsensible plan to me.

[Jay-ell]

Oh dear - I think we may be on to something here