By Annap

Re: Growing broad beans
26 Apr 2008 20:30

Hello,
My Son came home from school with a broad bean in a jar with water. It is now 16 inches high, what do I do with it. Straight in the garden or in a pot. Please help, he will be upset if doesn't get any beans from it.
Many thanks
Anna

Replies

By *Bramble

Re: Growing broad beans
27 Apr 2008 10:10

You can put it into a pot for now to let the roots establish, or straight into the ground if you have a nice spot for it out of the wind but with a bit of sun. I would pot it first, the poor thing might die of shock this weather! Give it a couple of weeks then put it out. Bramble :-)))

By Sam, worthing west sussex, uk

Re: Growing broad beans
28 Apr 2008 15:45

they are pretty easy things to grow.

very similar to runner beans in the growing stakes.

as your son has started his off already. (iremember doing things like that at school, but in my junior school days - didn;t think they still did this type of project) i digress.

best thing you can do (is it just the one plant???) cos you may not get a high yield, but you will be able to crop from it.

is to basically plant it out.

it will need a climbing support of some kind, ie canes, like runner beans, they will gorw to about 1 metre in height. you can grow in a pot, but broad beans do like to be in the ground.

if in a pot you need a fairly large pot about a foot circumference by a foot deep (sorry about going metric and imperial).

if in the ground you should be able to plant in a farily sheltered place now, no later than MAY. put your stake in the ground first then dig a nice hole with some decent compost earth and plant up and basically leave it to its own devices, if you live in the north, it may be better to plant it in a pot about 5-6 inches in diameter, and place a skinny cane in and leave in greenhouse or very sheltered position in the garden away from wind and frost, or on a window sill.

as soon as frost has gone, plant up.

ideally broadbeans should be soaked for 24-48 hours then planted straight in the ground. Like runner beans.

when the plant is about 3 inches high pinch the tops of the plant this will encourage pod growth, and more pods, and also it deters from pests, and the broad bean is particularly struck by black fly (again like runners) pinching the top should decrease that problem.

had the seeds been sown in the ground in november, you will be cropping end of april/may.

but as your doing it this way, pick the pods when they are about 2 inches long and cook them WHOLE, then pod them, and pick as many as you require.....frequent picking encourages more growth.

and if you have enough broad beans you can make all sorts of recipes from salads to soup.