Tips on Growing Broad Beans

Planting

• Broad beans prefer a sunny area with well-draining soil that has had decomposed manure worked into it. Plant broad beans as soon as the soil can be worked in colder climates, or plant them in late October and November in milder areas. Seeds should be planted 1 to 2 inches deep, 6 to 9 inches apart. The seeds will germinate in about a week to 14 days.

Plant Care

• Traditional broad bean plants grow rather tall, some to 4 feet, and staking the plant will be necessary as it reaches that height. An alternative, or an addition to staking is to build up soil around the base of the plant as it grows to give it extra support.
  To provide a higher, earlier harvest, and more uniform yield of broad beans, when the first pods begin to form on the plant, pinch back the top of the plant.
  Broad beans do not require additional fertilizer or feeding, other than watering, when well rotted manure has been worked into the planting soil before planting the beans. Broad beans should not be over watered but the soil kept moist and watering done just before the soil dries out. If you under water broad bean plants, allowing the ground to repeatedly dry out too much, the beans will become hard, even the young beans.
  Aphids and black flies are the two main pests that invade broad beans. Aphids can be hosed off with water and the infected leaves removed. Spray black flies when you first see them, with an appropriate insecticide, to keep them controlled.

Harvesting

• The approximate time between sowing in the fall and harvesting is 26 weeks, while spring sowing will bring a harvest time of around 14 weeks. Pick the pods when the they are plump and drooping from the weight. Early pods that are 3 to 4 inches in length can be harvested and cooked whole or shelled like peas.
  If you're growing broad beans grown for drying and storing for later use, pick them as the pod begins to shrivel and the beans begin show, but while they are still white or green and not scarred.