Broad Bean Disaster

[Pootle]

Well - my broad beans have been a disaster! Looking at other plots, theirs are huge and overwhelmed with flowers - mine are sad little specimens

Now I personally can't stand the things, but OH loves them - so the question is, if I started some off in pots in a heated propagator now would I get a crop this year or should I admit defeat and try again next year?

[Paulottie]

When did you plant them Pootle? My Autumn sown Aqua D's look fab just about to harvest but the spring sown Suttons are pretty pathetic. Pigeons and weevil have made a mess of them. I should think that you could get a late crop if you sowed some direct(shouldn't bother with pots). Go on give it a go...they've got 2 chances eh!


I generally prefer Autumn sowing though as they turn in earlier- before the french and runners start (when I lose interest.) I only grew them for the OH too but over the years I have found that they are nice when young and appealing when there is not much else about. Any crop from spring sowing here tends to get frozen anyway.

[gojiberry]

I have autumn sown beans and they look fab but the the beans have been late in forming. The plot next to me has spring sown beans that look pathetic but the beans are ready for picking and there is a good crop on them. I think next year it will be spring sown ones.

Ian

[Pootle]

Thanks for the advice - mine were spring sown so perhaps I'm expecting too much too soon (twas ever thus!)

I think I'll sow some more anyway - just to keep OH happy - there's nothing to lose!

[crichmond]

mine are looking great, big bushy and loads of beans nearly ready for picking. I sowed them in modules in february in the greenhouse, everyone elses on my side of the allotments look thin and yellow and poorly but most of them sowed in autumn.

[Norm]

DON'T PANIC! The answer is still 42 Yours sound fine to me. The way to look at it is, when the others have brown sticks left in the ground with a few dead leaves blowing in the breeze, you will be picking beautiful pods full of fresh beans and THEY will be coming on here asking why their crop is dead and someone on their allotment is still picking beans. As for growing more, we aren't even in June yet, so there's still months of growing time left

[Two_Sheds]

They absolutely don't need heat to germinate. Just put some seed direct in the ground.
You'll have to watch out for blackfly though ... they love soft sappy growth. Autumn-sown broadies are much tougher and rarely get blackfly.

[Pootle]

Well I planted some more seed - and nada, nothing, zip!

I had wondered whether the birds got the first lot, but the new sowing was under cover and still nothing has happened! I thought broad beans were supposed to be easy!?

The only good thing is that maybe it wasn't me but the seed that's duff. Every cloud and all that