The Picture Printer: The last of the broad beans

Almost ready broad bean pods on the plant

I love broad beans - just picked, juicy broad beans, lightly steamed with some butter, salt and pepper --Mmmm

I grow as much as I can every year.

They are a long term crop, I sow in October and watch them carefully in the spring. Growing broad bean shoots are the first signs that the soil is warm enough to plant seeds. They are out of the ground like rockets in the first hint of warm spring weather.

Overwintered broad beans April 2012

Bold and strong, broad beans are a real Super-crop. They grow in symbiosis with a fungi that fixes nitrogen for them arround deep penetrating roots. They leave the soil open and light and full of nitrogen, more fertile than before they grew.

Usually easy to grow and relatively pest free, I would recommend them to anyone wanting to start a veg garden.

Fully grown broad bean plants over 4 foot high early June 2013

This last growing season was different. Instead of summer warmed October soil, the seeds went into the coldest and wettest autumn soil I can ever remember. It continued to rain. Most seeds rotted in the ground, so I planted more. Those that did germinate before the winter freeze rotted in the ground and in March my beds had just 10 plants.

I planted again. In the late cold spring I waited - nothing. So in April I seeded pots on my window sill at home. Then transferred them into the greenhouse as soon as the tips showed. As last desperate attempt, I planted 50 bean plants in the 3rd week in April in a late and wet spring.