Grow Your Own Magazine

Here in the USA we grow lots and lots of beans...I love beans and peas so I really grow lots of them....I have never grown broad beans and I see many of you mention growing them...I am intrigued and think I would like to grow them...Can you all tell me what I need to know about growing them....I did a search already and think I have read everything there is to read here about them but I would like to hear or see it all on one thread and directed to a complete novice at growing them...even comparing the taste to other beans...

Broad beans are supposed to be one of the easiest crops to grow. In schools the teachers often use broad bean to grow in class for the little ones. The leaves are edible, you can make wine from the flowers (apparently - I've never done it) and the pods can be eaten whole when small (the length of you little finger) or grown on for full size beans when you split the pod and eat only the beans, much in the manner of peas.

You might find that you do grow them as field beans, I think that is the American name for them.

They are heavy feeders and enjoy a good layer of rotted manure dug in before sowing.

Over here mice are sometimes a problem, so sowing straight into the ground can be hazardous - Generally I prefer to sow one seed per 3" pot and start them in that manner. In the south of England we don't suffer too badly from prolonged frosts so autumn sowing can be a good way of getting an early crop - my beans are almost ready to pick now - a spring sowing would obviously mature later.

As with most crops there are different varieties some tall some short, some old some new. So very much personal choice as to the spacific variety to grow. For example if you have very cold winters, short springs and early autumns with strong winds at any time of year then a quick maturing, dwarf modern variety such as 'Aquadulce'(?) might be better than a slow maturing, tall variety like 'Exhibition Longpod'.

Hope this starts the information rolling for you

Terry

Here's a whole thread about growing Broad beans.

Broad Beans - Grow Your Own Wants Your Advice!

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Manda.

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Dirtdobber
I think we love them so much because they're early before the peas, runner and french beans, first it's rhubarb and then it's broad beans. I'm trying hard to think how to describe the taste, it depends if you eat them when they're very young, ie kidney bean size or when they are bigger and older, ie butter bean size. When they're young you can eat them with their skins on but in the older tougher beans this can be rather inedible and doesn't look too good wrinkly and gray! so very tiresome to pick off the skins of a big serving of broad beans.
When they're young they have something of the pea flavour to them, older they're more floury and rather like a non-dried dried bean if that makes any sense.
I love them and am waiting knife and fork in hand for when they are ready - should be just another week now.
Oh and by the way the flowers are very pretty, black and white and smell heavenly, rather like vanilla.

I wonder if like Terry says they are the same as field beans, I've seen this growing as a green manure and it does look like it, although they get chopped down and dug in when they're young so never seen them flowering or growing pods.
It's strange these different names, the one that floors me is cilantro, I forget every time what we know it as - think it's coriander always something I have to look up when I'm using American cookery books!
best wishes
Sue

Hi DD,

As it's already been said we grow them cos they are Hardy and we can plant them in October/ November and over winter them ( I'm already eating mine and V. Nice they are infact I ate a load the other day raw and they were as sweet as peas!!. Traditionally ( well it was in our house) we had them with New potatoes that my Dad grew in pots in the greenhouse to get them extra early, Gammon and brown sauce ( HP is the best according to Mrs Grief) an a little of the fat poured over ..... not hte healthiest of meals but the taste !!!

If you want varieties to look out for, Aquadulce, or Super Aquadulce is a good hardy one. The Sutton is a spring sown one here and doesn't grow too tall or my absolute favourite is Crimson flowered which has ..... crimson flowers would you belive !! and a gorgeous scent to go with it ( orgininally they were grown for "cut flowers" I believe and it was some time later that folks ate them) I know that your import laws are tough so it';s now worth me trying to send you any as they would probably get confistcated by customs but I'm sure there are place that you can order them from as a lot of our seed merchants have a US base that they can send them from.

Failing that take a vacation in this country and visit some grapes and I'm sure we can send you home with a few

PS - in fact if you do come over, I can send you a list of your Cacti I would like & you can have some of my beas in exchange !!

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ntg

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
A large group of professionals built the Titanic

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Thanks everyone...I am so excited about trying something new....especially a bean...We have very mild winters in my area....we do have two or three light freezes and usually one or two heavy ones...but I can protect them if need be ......I will continue to research while doing my summer gardening and let you all know how I progress......Loved the invites...wouldn't I love to visit your country....Hey NTG ...send me that cacti list anyway...you never know when I might run into one...

Thanks again everyone...

I sowed a batch of Sutton in late autumn along side my Aquadulce. It said they could be sown sping or autumn sown. I couldn't vouch for hardiness as we have mild winters down here too. but the Suttons win for flavour and yield. I have yet to try crimson flowered.

I have found that broad beans are pretty hardy but don't like being rocked about in the wind. I grow them in blocks rather then rows. and give them a wind-break when small.

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Paul

I believe that in the US, broad beans are called fava beans, if that's any help.

Field beans are a type of broad bean which is grown for feed/ land cover.

Served with liver and chianti aren't they!

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Paul

Yes they are called fava as well as broad beans...however even the fava isn't very popular...I still haven't a clue as to why...I have seen it in the supermarket but it's usually in like the specialty department...perhaps so they can charge more for it? I see it in several of my seed catalogs so I will order some seed and keep you posted on the outcome...

Thanks for the input....I'm going to check around for variety...I may be a little more limited than you all are but I do recall one catalog with more than one variety....I'll write down the varities suggested or mentioned here...might do like I do with other beans, just try more than one kind...right now I am growing about 6 different beans and peas...probably won't save any seed because they are probably close enough for cross polination...You guys are a big help....

I am growing Broad Bean Giant Exhibition Longpod, not tried them before so will let you know how they turn out...

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Dirtdobber - you don't say whether you have ever eaten a broad bean/ fava bean, have you?

I ask because they do have a very distinctive, I would say "strong" flavour, for a bean and are not much like other peas and beans in this respect.

I can eat them when they are very small, lightly steamed as part of a salad, but I am still not sure I really like them after all these years

No truthfully I haven't...I have heard of them of course but the fact that so many of your grow them sparked my interest and I believe that I live in a climate where I could actually grow or over winter them....I am going to look for them at the market and see ...If I find them, perhaps I will try them...Truth is...I have never ever had a bean or pea that I didn't like...some I like better than others but I love beans period....If I am ever facing my last meal and am allowed to request it, it will be beans....with a little cornbread of course.

Also adding here that I mentioned the Broad Beans on the board at Garden web and one man responded that he had had good luck growing...He is a little farther north than I am but I am probably a little higher in elevation (so cooler) but I don't know that for sure...He says his suffered from lack of water that was his fault but that up to that point they had done really well...

I've grown Masterpiece LJ - I agree the flavour was great. Not tried the other longpod - time I did, I think!

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Thanks Lesley, I think I will try one of those varieties.

As an aside, I am growing Jubilee Hysor and, as usual, very few beans are setting. They are good strong healthy plants with a good lot of flowers, but I notice that the "naughty bees" have been at them again - they bore through the back of the flower instead of where they should go, and so there's no pollination.

I find them a pain to remove the skins off the older beans- especially after having podded them too. There is so little left compared to what you have picked!
However as my OH insists on growing them, I have found an easier way of removing the skin.....freeze the beans once they are removed from the pods. After a few days the skin is easy to tear open and the tasty bit easily sqeezes out!
ps- I do like beans like butter beans, so I think I must just be lazy!!!