Growing and Sowing Broad Beans

One of the first vegetables you can sow in the open ground are broad beans. Like peas, they are resistant to frost. Broad beans, also called fava beans, are the seeds that grow in a fairly large, felt-like pod. This pod is not edible. They belong to the legume family. There are varieties that turn brown after cooking and others that remain white or green. Broad beans have a somewhat bitter taste. The white variety is less bitter than the brown one.

Growing your own broad beans from seeds

Broad beans are easy to grow and have a somewhat bitter taste. This flavour gets stronger as the bean thickens. Therefore, always pick the young beans. After harvesting, you have to remove the beans from their outer pods. It is even better to double pod the beans. You do this by first removing the beans from the pod and then removing the green skin from the bean.

Sowing and planting broad beans

Broad beans can be sown in open ground from the beginning of March, although there are also vegetable gardeners who do this as early as October. Broad beans are resistant to frost. You can also pre-sow them from January under glass or at home. The easiest way to do this is to sow them in pots or a large container. Use normal potting soil and sow about 2 to 3 cm deep. Sow in open ground from March, in rows 60-75 cm between each row and 15 cm in the row. The pre-sown plants can also be planted from March onwards with the same planting distance. Keep in mind that broad beans are self-pollinators and, in addition to the fact that there are few insects at this time of year, there is also no wind inside or in the greenhouse. This makes pollination more difficult.

Check out the different kind of Broad Beans seeds >

Position and soil

Broad beans like to be in a sunny spot in the garden. It is also important that the place is sheltered from the wind, as the plants grow relatively tall and can easily be blown over. They grow in all types of soil and, like all other legumes, require few nutrients.

How to care for your broad bean plants

Although broad beans require little care, they need some fertilization. After all, they become quite large plants. For this, the soil can first be provided with some extra compost before sowing or transplanting.

It is also important that the plants get enough water. Broad beans, and especially the plants that do not grow well, are sensitive to aphids. The aphids prefer to sit in the buds, which can be prevented by topping the plants. Do this when there are about 8 flowers on the plant.

When and how to harvest broad beans?

This of course depends on when they were sown and is often from June to August. Harvest only the larger pods and try to feel if the beans are big enough. Beans that are too small are not a problem, these taste the best. But of course, this does not result in a large harvest.

How to preserve broad beans

Broad beans can be kept in a cool place for about 3 days and in the refrigerator for 5 days. Broad beans can be frozen raw or blanched. In addition, they can also be dried or canned.

Are broad beans healthy?

Broad beans, like all other legumes, are healthy. They contain a lot of protein, vitamins and minerals. In particular, a lot of vitamin B and folic acid. For preserving these nutrients, don’t cook them too long.

Broad bean seeds in our collection

In our range we have seeds of brown and white broad beans. An organic variant is also available.

Tips to grow broad beans

Broad beans are very sensitive to aphids. This can be prevented, among other things, by sowing the broad beans early, sowing dill between the plants and topping the plants.

Check out the different kind of Broad Beans seeds >