Broad bean seeds and plants at Dobies. They are very easy to grow. They’re a delicious bean you take from the pod and cook and enjoy! There are several different types including a dwarf variety which can be grown in pots.
Plants the seeds either in the ground outside or start off in pots in the greenhouse. They’re quite hardy though.
They’re an ancient plant with remains of Broad Beans being found in Israel which date back as far as 6,500 BC.
Plant in a sunny spot and hopefully not a windy place. They will bend over in the wind and grow still but it means the pods are often touching the ground and this enables slugs or snails to attack the bean pods.

They’re fairly touch though and you’ll get lots of pods off each plant with the pale white with a dark spot flowers looking subtle. Most people pinch out the soft leaves right at the top when it gets to about 4ft tall as this is what the blackfly will really attack. They’re fairly resistant though and should be ok even if you don’t. The beans are best picked often as when they get bigger their skins are more noticable. Some people rub off the outer skin before cooking, but it’s a lot of fuss really!
They’ll germinate any time from March onwards even in cold soils as low as 2’C so there’s no need to fuss over them – but if you’re using a patch of the garden for an over winter crop starting them in pots indoors means you can put them out later on after your first crop has gone. You can also sow some in the autumn. You can start them in cloches outside or use cut off fizzy pop bottles as mini incubators over the seed you’ve planted to give them a good start! If you do plant in the autumn make sure it’s not in a frost pocket as the flowers will not set if they’re frozen off – a bit of fleece thrown over might help them though.

They don’t need a huge lot of attention – watch out for blackfly and water in dry weather but they’re not as thirsty as the runner beans!
You can stake the plants if you like to keep them tidy. Pick the beans and use fresh or freeze or dry them. Save some seeds for next year if you like. Boil and serve with your dinner, or add to stews and soups!

Broad Bean Express Plants (Vicia faba) Pack of 12 Pot Ready Plants – SAVE £3.95! £9.95
Early maturing broad bean producing many well-filled pods 20cm (8″) long containing 5 or 6 plump, greenish-white seeds. Flavour and quality very good. Award of Garden Merit. Trialled, tested and recommended by the National Institute of Agricutural Botany. Full growing instructions included. Mid April Ideal for deep freezing. Harvest when seed shape is visible through the pod.HEALTH BENEFITS: Source of vitamins A (For growth, healthy hair, skin, bones, teeth and eyes as well as resistance to respiratory infections), C (Anti-ageing, wound healing, decreasing blood cholesterol and prevention of infections. Assists the body in absorbing iron), and E (Antioxidant important for anti-ageing [particularly for skin]). Source of protein and fibre.

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