Sow Your Own – Broad Beans
Sow Your Own
Broad Beans
Broad beans are great to sow in February, they can be sown directly into the soil in a well-drained site, with plenty of good compost and well-rotted manure. Sow your seeds around 3 inches deep and around 6 inches apart. If you’re sowing in open ground keep the rows around 18 inches apart. Cover the seeds with soil, then gently firm down the area and water well. It’s ideal when sowing in the ground to cover the area with netting so the seeds are safe from hungry birds or squirrels. Also, keep your eye out for weeds during the germination process, removing any as they pop up.
Alternatively, if your soil is heavy or waterlogged then you can sow seeds in trays indoors until they are ready to be planted out. Sow them in deep pots or modules and keep them in a cold frame or unheated greenhouse where they’ll germinate in around 3 weeks. When the roots have filled the pot, they are ready to be planted out in their final spot.
As they grow, some may need staking, but to avoid this, if the plants are grown close together they actually support each other.
Keep your crop well-watered and the soil well irrigated and you should have your first crop ready for harvest in the summer.