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How to Grow Broad Beans
Against all Odds (could be a song)
Here’s a post to inspire you with hope during your darkest hour, a tale of cold days and nights, savage attack, flooding, drought, neglect, low self-esteem and a fightback straight out of a Rocky Balboa movie script. Yes, it’s my broad bean plants.
Having planted my strong young plants out in a suitable position, carefully attending to their every whim I returned one day to find they had been devestated by my arch enemy, the flea beetle which had the audacity to finish off my courgettes and cauliflowers.
That was over a month ago, I was bloody annoyed, I don’t mind telling you. I love broad beans and was looking forward to a good crop. Work commitments meant I had precious little time to spend in the garden save planting out rather than digging up. This meant the broad bean plants remained in situ. As I had pronounced them dead a couple of weeks previously I didn’t bother watering them, concentrating instead on those plants which had escaped the airborne attacks.
Yesterday as I passed the plants, cursing the flea beetle as I usually do I glanced down to see a green pod full of juicy broad beans! What a result, feeling more than a little guilty I quickly reached for the watering can and said a prayer to the God of legumes begging forgiveness.
Here’s a valuable lesson learnt, never give up! Well, unless it’s my cauliflowers-I’ve seen chives thicker. So now I can enjoy a bean or two, up your’s flea beetle.
A war torn broad bean plant
Miles,
So far so good on the kale front… although I seem to have some pak choi as well, all at the same development. The butternut squash are thriving too…. could be the large plastic cloches, the bugs haven’t worked out how to get in! The one thing I haven’t bought is a courgette plant and considering my success with them last year I really must get one…. there’s only so many courgette fritters and muffins a person can stomach so mustn’t let my enthusiasm drive me to buy two
The fig tree is looking good but them it usually does before the birds spot the fruit that is… last year I only got a couple of figs so perhaps it’s time to try out my antique wooden pigeon decoy. I shall dangle him from a suitably strong branch (he’s heavy, probably made from lead!) to see if it puts our feathered friends off
This summer I’ve taken both yours and Elsie’s advice and kept up with the bird feed and that seems to have been successful too…. I now have a resident Pterodactyl judging by the state of the drive
Cid
June 17, 2008 @ 4:49 pm
Miles & Cid,
Isn’t it frustrating when our efforts get swarted and something munches our veg. Most of my radishes get nibbled and I wonder what is doing it?
We must really love these birds who leave us plenty of “Thank You’s”. I don’t know about your drive, Cid but I do get a bit tested when my car gets covered!
Elsie
June 17, 2008 @ 8:05 pm
Cid,
You paint a nice picture, don’t worry if you plant a courgette too many, leave them for marrow and make a chutney
Your fig tree is doing better than mine, if you could see my friend’s fig tree in Spain it would make you cry.
Miles
June 17, 2008 @ 10:21 pm
Elsie,
Despite the small fortune I spend on bird food they still use my car as target practice, it is annoying but I can think of worse things.
Miles
June 17, 2008 @ 10:24 pm
Hi,
I too am growing broadbeans, in Washington, DC. It’s now late June, but so far, I’ve only gotten 4 pods off of about 10 stalks or so. This doesn’t seem right. There are some black markings on the plants, don’t know what that means. I will wait to pull them up, though. The beans I have “harvested” have been delicious.
June 29, 2008 @ 10:08 pm
Virginia,
One thing that I have discovered is that patience is a virtue, I am now reaping the benefits with my broad beans. Don’t give up just yet, plants have a remarkable ability to suprise and delight.
Thankyou for taking the time to comment, it is much appreciated. Welcome to the site, I hope you return again soon.
Kind regards
Miles
June 29, 2008 @ 10:24 pm
Will wait. Thanks so much.
July 1, 2008 @ 12:43 am