Broad beans

[Dorothy rouse]

Please a v quick question, am going to plant,y broad beans out today, they are about 2/3 inches high, do I need to cover them? Netting or Environmesh, or will they now be ok?

Thanks

[Alison]

I never do a though mine aren't going out for a couple of weeks yet as they're not hardened off

[ESBkevin]

Hardening off may be advisable, but mine were planted about November outdoors and overwintered with no special protection.

[Florence Fennel]

Can't advise Dotty, I've always overwintered mine, but don't they say that spring grown ones catch up? I would imagine their hardy, barring frosts of course. So that's not helped at all has it?

[Dorothy rouse]

Thanks all, they are in and looking good, uncovered! So let's hope the pigeons and mice aren't hungry! And I am in the 'warm south'! So there had better not be a frost, but they are quite hardy I think!

[roitelet]

It might be worth giving them some protection from the wind.

[Spunky]

I'm pretty sure it's just black fly you have to worry about Dorothy

[Snadger]

Mine that i planted in the greenhouse raised bed last November are starting to flower, I love the smell of broad bean flowers so hopefully my greenhouse will start to smell sweet!

[Root66]

My overwintering beans are flowering and planted a new lot a while back. Both have been uncovered and doing well

[Muddy_Boots]

Here's mine on the plot on Wednesday in flower that I planted last November:



Broad Beans are pretty hardy and will withstand some frost, the pigeons don't like them and won't attack them like peas and Brassicas so don't need netting. All you need to do is put support string around the row when they get a bit taller to stop them falling over when the pods start to form.

[brownfingers]

Mine have been out a couple of weeks now, are about a foot high, and have some flowers.

[Bacchus]

Broad beans are fab!

[cristalfiona]

Here's mine on the plot on Wednesday in flower that I planted last November

I didn't realise that you could grow them that close together! I might have to stick in another row to fill in the centre of my two rows - at the moment there's so much bare ground.

[Muddy_Boots]

I didn't realise that you could grow them that close together! I might have to stick in another row to fill in the centre of my two rows - at the moment there's so much bare ground.

When I planted my first lot I too planted them to the spacing's they said on the packet and started them off in pots first, my next door neighbor had a load like mine are now last year and said he just planted the seeds direct. This time I just made a shallow trench and threw the seeds direct on the ground (2 packs) and covered them, left them and half expected nothing to appear so was gobsmacked in December when I went down to check everything and they were all out and 6 inches high.

I think with Broad Beans the direct sow approach is the best way to grow them the same as peas in a shallow trench, only thing is you don't have to worry about the pigeons as they hate them.

[Dorothy rouse]

Broadies

Here they are look ok?