A must-have addition to every plot big or small, Broad Beans Seeds produce high yields and guarantee flavour you can’t buy in the supermarket. Home-grown crops are the way forward, and Dobies has a wide range of Broad Bean varieties that can be sown both early spring and autumn. The autumn sown beans help maintain soil structure throughout the dark months and provide a high yield crop early summer.
If you plan to grow your own, try ‘Karmazyn’ for a good source of protein or ‘Crimson Flowered’ for stunning flowers and an ornamental edible in the flower border.
Sowing Information:
Sow from February to May for summer cropping. Sow the seeds 5cm (2in) deep in double rows with 23cm (9in) between each seed and each row. Harvest the beans when the seed shape is just visible through the pod. Top Tip: Pinch out the plant tops when in full flower for better-filled pods and to avoid infestation with black fly.
How to grow broad beans from seed
- In spring when the soil is starting to warm, sow broad bean seeds directly into prepared soil, which has had plenty of compost or Organic matter dug into. Drills, straight lines marked with a garden line, this is especially important in spring so you can tell the beans from the weeds.
- If sown indoors, such as a propagator use root trainer pots as this will minimise root disturbance when planting out.
- Beans like their feet wet so attention to watering and keeping the soil damp is important. Water early morning or at dusk to avoid the water transpiring into the atmosphere.
- A good practice is to pinch out tips once your seeds start to grow, as this will reduce Blackfly infestations. The tips are tasty too, so munch or put in a salad
- Encourage Aphid/Blackfly predators like Ladybirds and Hoverflies by planting Fennel.
Final tips: Supporting Broad Beans with canes might help once they get large but if they are planted in blocks they can self-support Support. Dig them into the soil after they are spent as they are incredibly good for soil structure.
Shop your Broad Bean Seeds UK from Dobies!
