(Best months for planting Broad beans in USA - Zone 5a regions)

P = Plant direct in garden where they are to grow.

Your comments and tips

01 Nov 12, Paul (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

Hi Pam, I recall Peter Cundell (from ABC Gardening show in Tassie) talking about eating his broad beans at Xmas. So I would suggest your beans should continue producing til end of November. I'm in Melb and mine continue to produce til at around November 30-ish. After that I will be cutting my bean stalks off at around soil level, leaving the roots in the ground (and the nitrogen in those roots still in the ground) and planting my next crop next to the old bean roots. The rest of the stalk goes on the compost. Hope this helps.

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25 Sep 12, Joy (Australia - tropical climate)

I planted around june, have aboundant flowers, and many set fruit, but they are very small, & hard to get off the vine, I need to cut with knife!. should i have planted earlier? will further beans continue now it is getting so warm here, 24-29 deg C (Gold Coast) thanku, if you can help,

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25 Sep 12, Christine Visona (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

First time to grow broad beans, and pretty happy with it. I am now picking my mature ones. I rather like them both young and ripe but the ripe ones we deep fry and eat as nibbles. My question is how many pods can you expect from every stalk given good growing condition.

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30 Sep 12, bob (Australia - temperate climate)

Of course growing broad beans on southern coast of victoria where it is a rather cold winter is different from where you are. My beans are now 2 metres tall with many flowers but no pods yet; maybe 2 weeks. To answer your question maybe 20 pods per plant - numerous. Cant eat them all so we get the beans, blanch them and freeze them for eating over summer. Must be blanched before freezing

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29 Oct 12, Frans Littel (Australia - temperate climate)

I am in Perth WA and have been growing broadies for about 5 years and at the moment still have about 1.5kg of beans left from last year in our freezer , we have not had any luck with blanch the beans before freezing all we do shell the beans and freeze them when ready just cook them as if they just picked. Feel sorry for those who don't like broad beans. Frans

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19 Sep 12, marie. (Australia - temperate climate)

how do i know when the beans are ready to pick.They are 100mm long.

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30 Sep 12, bob (Australia - temperate climate)

mature pods grow to about 9 inches long with abt 8 beans per pod can start eating( pods and beans) when young, abt 4 inches long

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20 Sep 12, hz (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

Perfect for picking right now ! At this size they are nice in a stir-fry or steamed, when larger they need to be shelled and just the bean is used. I never let mine get big, except for the few rogues that I don't see till too late. Where I am, I won't get flowers for another month, and beans in November. Can't wait, I put twice as many in this year as they were so wonderful last year.

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17 Sep 12, harold dowling (Australia - temperate climate)

I would like to know if it is advisable to cut some of the stems off as there are sometimes 5-6 stems rising of one seed. It leads to a bit of overcrowding. The seeds were planted abt 60mm apart. Thanks

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30 Sep 12, bob (Australia - temperate climate)

Keep all the stalks growing; they all produce pods. Better a bit crowded as they stand together better in strong winds.

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