(Best months for planting Broad beans in Australia - cool/mountain regions)

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

• Easy to grow.
• Harvest in 12-22 weeks. Pick frequently to encourage more pods.
• Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed.
• Best planted at soil temperatures between 43°F and 75°F. (Show °C/cm)
• Space plants: 6 - 10 inches apart

It is a rigid, erect plant 0.5-1.7 m tall, with stout stems with a square cross-section. The leaves are 10-25 cm long, pinnate with 2-7 leaflets, and of a distinct glaucous grey-green color. Harvest 90 - 160 days depending on how cold the weather is.

In windy areas it is best to provide some support with posts and string, otherwise the plants will fall across each other. Pick the tops out once beans start setting to prevent blackfly.

Culinary hints - cooking and eating Broad beans

The fresh beans are eaten steamed or boiled. As the beans mature it is better to remove their tough outer skins after cooking.
The leafy top shoots of the adult plants can be picked and steamed after flowering.
Small beans can be eaten whole in the pods.
Broad beans will freeze well. Remove from pods and blanch.

Your comments and tips

03 Sep 10, kathy anne greer (Australia - temperate climate)

I have beautiful broad beans growing ,they are flowering and look lovely but I have never grown them before and I keep looking for something, How do they become beans and from what? Is it the flower itself? , I know I seem silly but I do not know what to look for ... ha, ha apart from beans that is! thankyou kathy

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05 Sep 10, Michelle (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

Yes, the beans come from the flowers. Keep an eye on them - you will notice a little tiny pod that looks like a pea pod coming from the bottom of the flower as it withers. The pods then grow quite fast. They are ready to pick whenever you are ready to eat them. You can actually pick them early (when ther are the size of your pinkie finger) and cook them whole as you would with green beans. However most people pick them when they are the thickness of a thumb, and about 2 times the length of a thumb, or even bigger (you will get bigger beans). Split open the pod, and extract the beans. They should look white. Blanch them for a minute in boiling water, and the white skin on the outside will go wrinkly. It's a simple matter of popping the green beans out of the white skins, and you are ready to eat them, or cook with them further. They are lovely in frittatas and risotto. Once the harvest is over, you can cut up the plants and plough them back into the soil as compost, or simply add them to your compost heap. That way the plant is useful twice. Good luck!

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01 Sep 10, Monty (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

I have small brown grubs/caterpillars (approx. 10mm) burrowing into my broad beans. Does anyone know what they are and more importantly how to get rid of them organically. I have picked off the affected pods. Would Dipel work on these grubs? Thanks.

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25 Aug 10, Doug (Australia - temperate climate)

Planted mine in March and growth very vigorous and have had flowers since end May. However no sign of beans. Still have good flower set and have bee activity, I will wait until mid Sept. and if still no beans will pull lot and consign to the mulch pile.

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05 Sep 10, Michelle (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

Last year mine came on quite late, and we finally picked our crop just before Melbourne Cup Day, in time for our tomatoes to go in. Don't pull them out in haste! They will reward you if you wait.

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01 Sep 10, Barb (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Don't give up yet! Last year my broad beans came on in October. This year I planted them extra early - have have lots of flowers but no sign of beans yet. Hz is right.. it's been colder this year so they're coming a bit later. I wouldn't pull them until at least mid Oct!

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01 Sep 10, Hz (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

Doug, last year my broad beans flowered in Sep and I picked beans in Oct/Nov. This year has been much colder, so I expect they will be even later. Small new broad beans are divine in a stir-fry, definately worth the wait if you have room to keep your crop in the ground. Also worth chopping them down to six inches after the first flush, they will regrow and give a second crop, if you have space of course. Oh please don't chop em down just before the beans turn up lol - good luck.

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18 Jul 10, green toes (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

sounds like a good idea

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18 Jul 10, Roger (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

This is my first time growing beans, my plants look healthy but I have more then one stem on each plant should these be cut off to concentrate on one stronger plant?

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24 Jul 10, Roger (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

Thanks Liz will take your advice.

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