Old Geezer the Gardening Guru: How to grow broad beans

Thursday, 27 October 2011 3:04 PM

By Old Geezer

We stay on the vegetable patch this week and take a look at how to grow one of my favourite crops - broad beans.

I always look forward to the first feed of these, along with some new potatoes and a knob of butter; they herald in the new season crops nicely.

As with most things there are a few simple 'rules' to follow (I hate the word 'rules' as it implies you 'must' do something). In this case it is simply prepare your ground, as with the peas from last week, by digging in some compost, ensuring it is well buried.

Rake the soil level – try to avoid standing on where you will be planting your beans – and remove any significant stones as you go.

You'll need a line, to keep your rows straight, and an old hoe handle, something round and smooth about an inch in diameter to make your holes. Put a mark on this 'dibber' with a marker pen about two inches from the end. The reason for the mark is simple, so you make all your holes the same depth resulting in an even crop.

I use an old hoe handle so I don't have to bend but a 'dibber', bought from a garden centre is just as good.

Working along your line, make the holes about eight inches apart, which will allow you to hoe between the young plants to control any weeds. A little tip: when you make the holes twist the dibber a little, then twist again on the way out, doing this helps to make a clean hole, stopping a lot of soil falling in before you plant.

Also make your first row of holes so that you can move your line for a second row without dragging it over the first.

I always put two beans in each hole, but I never cover any up until I have used up all the packet of seed. Part rows are a pain; any spare beans can be dropped into a hole where one of the pair already inside is particularly small.

It is easy to count up how many beans you have left after you have planted your first row and if you have enough make another row of holes. The rows need to be a foot apart and I mean a 'foot'; I put the heel of my boot against the stick while holding my line, pull it up and push it in against my toe. I'm less likely to lose my boot than a measuring stick!

Before you fill in the holes put a marker stick at the end of each row. Again I use the back of my rake to cover the seed and gently tap down the soil with the rake held vertically.

As for varieties of broad beans, there is really only one worth growing over winter: Aquadulce 'Claudia' is head and shoulders above the rest.

Now is the perfect time to sow this crop, any earlier and they will be too big to survive the winter. Instead you want them to get to the stage where they have one good leaf and another starting to grow. This helps reduce the incidence of 'black leg' which is usually fatal and caused by plants swaying about in the wind.

Apart from hoeing when needed there is little to do until the crop is growing well. It is when they begin to flower that you should give them some support; a decent three foot long stake either end of the row is all that is needed. You can use additional canes every five or six feet if need be, a simple string reasonably tight between them is all that is required.

If you have two rows there is no need for a string between the rows, just along the outsides. Rows north to south are better than east to west, but it isn't critical.

Once the supports are in there is only one more job. When most of your plants have a few small pods on you should pinch out the growing points.

I know there will be flower buds visible in the bits you pinch out, but these rarely produce beans if left.

It might seem counter-intuitive but the reason is two-fold. Removing the tips means the plants put more into the existing pods, but more importantly it will remove any early black fly which if allowed to become established will ruin your crop.

I always carry a bucket on my arm for this job, so I can put the tips straight into it. I then bury these in the compost heap which will kill off any early black fly.

Enjoy your broad beans!

All the best, Old Geezer.

Old Geezer (Paul Rix) is the author of 'Beyond the Potting Shed' a comprehensive guide to growing your own. Available from all good book shops and Amazon.

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