vegetable

Broad bean

Plant them now, pick them in spring. Broad beans shrug off the cold, feed the soil while they grow, and crop when little else does.

Broad bean seedling
Seedling
Mature Broad bean
Ready to pick
Thrives
15–18°C
Water
Medium
Difficulty
Beginner
Ready in
70–84  days
Spacing
15cm apart

How to plant it

  • Plant 15cm apart, in rows about 30cm apart. They will get tall, so give them somewhere they are not shading everything else.
  • Get a stake or a string line in early. Broad beans grow tall and top-heavy, and one good blow will flatten a row that has nothing to lean on.
  • Once the first pods set, pinch out the soft growing tip. It keeps blackfly off and pushes the plant into filling pods instead of growing taller.
  • Pick from the bottom up, once the pods feel full but before they go leathery.
  • When they are finished, chop the plants down and dig them in. They leave the soil better than they found it, and whatever you plant next will notice.