Broad bean

Origin & history

The broad bean is the only bean Europe knew before Columbus and was long simply “the bean” in Europe — grown since the Neolithic, a staple in the Middle Ages, later displaced by the potato and the American common bean. No wild form is known to this day; the species exists only in cultivation. In Erfurt it even became the nickname of the locals, who are still called “Puffbohnen”.

Varieties

For the garden, large-seeded long-podded varieties with five to seven beans per pod are the ones worth having; the small-seeded field beans sold by agricultural merchants are fodder and green-manure stock. There are explicitly hardy varieties: sown in November they are ready some two to three weeks earlier than a spring sowing. Broad beans are open-pollinated but bumblebees do cross them — grow only one variety if you want seed true to type.

Care

The thick, hollow stems snap easily in wind and rain: either earth them up or run a string along both sides of the row on canes before the plants are knee-high. No feeding — the plant supplies itself through root nodule bacteria. What matters is even moisture from the start of flowering; if the soil dries out while they are in flower, the blossom drops and hardly any pods set.

What can go wrong

Mice often take the swollen seed out of a spring-sown row completely; if you want to be sure, raise the plants in pots and set out ready-grown seedlings. In warm damp weather and crowded stands, brown, sharply defined chocolate spots appear on leaves and stems — wide spacing, airy rows running with the wind and removing affected leaves keep it in check. Bean rust with its rust-brown pustules usually only arrives in high summer, which is why an early sowing is simply finished before then; after that, leave four years before broad beans return to the bed.

Harvest, storage & kitchen

Pick from the bottom of the plant upwards as soon as the beans show clearly through the pod but the scar on the seed is still pale — once it turns black the beans have gone mealy. Young beans are eaten with their skins; larger ones are worth double-podding: boil briefly, cool in cold water, then slip off the tough skin. Surplus freezes well after blanching, and fully mature beans can be dried right through for the store cupboard.

Frequently asked questions

When do you sow broad beans?

From mid-February, as soon as the soil crumbles when worked, and sensibly up to early April. Seeds go 5 cm deep, 15 cm apart in the row and 45 cm between rows. The earlier the row is in, the bigger its head start on the summer heat.

Are broad beans winter hardy?

Yes. Young plants come through frosts of around −5 °C unharmed, which is why the row can go in from mid-February. It only gets touchy at flowering time: a hard late frost can cost you blossom, though the plant itself carries on and flowers again.

How tall do broad beans grow?

Usually 80 to 150 cm, while dwarf types stay at 45 to 60 cm and stand far more securely in windy spots. Put tall varieties along the north edge of the bed, or from June they shade the next row. Size the support to the final height, not to what you can see in May.

When do you harvest broad beans?

Between mid-June and the end of July, a good four months after a spring sowing. The window per plant is short: all the pods are through within about two weeks. The bed is then free for a follow-on crop such as lettuce, fennel or autumn turnips — just not another bean or pea, which must wait years.