Gardening Australia – May 2019

GARDENING AUSTRALIA MAY 2019 75

CLOCKWISE FROM MAIN

Tall broad bean plants with

long pods are the toughest

varieties; broad beans look

great in the garden, and their

flowers attract bees; sow seed

20–25cm apart in double rows

that are spaced 30cm apart.

AquadulceTallplants,

25cmpods,heavycropping

ColesDwarfCompact,

15cmpods,earlycropping

Crimson Flowered

Decorativeheirloom,

15cmpods

Scarlet Cambridge

Purple seed, 25cm pods

TOP PICKS

incorporate some well-rotted compost.

Check the pH – if it’s below 6.5, add lime.

Sow seed 5cm deep, at intervals of

20–25cm, staggered in double rows 30cm

apart. Allow a spacing of 70cm between

any additional double rows. Successive

sowings at monthly intervals will provide a

continual supply of pods over many months.

Soaking seed overnight helps speed up

germination. Water the seed in well, then

allow the soil to dry out before re-wetting

as the large seed is prone to rot.

care & harvest

Broad bean seeds germinate in about

10–14 days. Gradually increase the

watering as plants begin to grow.

Pay particular attention to moisture

when flowers and pods begin to form,

as dry soil results in poor pod set.

Set up a support for the plants when

they start to look established. You can

support individual plants with bamboo

stakes, or drive a tomato stake into each

corner of a double row and wrap twine

around the outside. Add a couple more

stakes in the middle if the row is long.

Blackfly aphids are often attracted to the

new growth. If you see them, just pinch

out the tops to remove all the aphids. Don’t

waste the tops. Give them a good wash

and toss them into a salad or stir-fry. They

are delicious. Pinching the tops encourages

branching, too, which means more flowers

and pods, so it’s a good practice generally.

Planting to harvest is about 3–4 months.

Once they start cropping, expect a couple

of months of harvesting. You can eat small,

immature pods, shell and all, but if you only

want the seeds, let pods fully mature (when

the seeds inside have fully formed). Don’t

leave mature pods on theplanttoo long as

they rapidly lose quality. GA

PROBLEMSOLVER

Brown fungal spots (left) can appear on stems

andfoliageoncrowdedplants.Thinthestemsor

plants(ifnecessary)toincreaseaircirculation.

Rust and powdery mildew can be a problem

towardtheendofcroplife.Ifyouhavethepromise

ofongoingharvests,treatwithanorganicfungicide.

Root rot may occur in poorly drained soils.

Pull up affected plants, and sow fresh seed in

a new bed where drainage has been improved.

at a glance

common name

broad bean, fava bean

botanic name

Vicia faba

plant type

fruitingvegetable

80cm–1.5m

40cm

fullsun

autumn,winter, spring

3–4 months

suitable

IN THE PATCH

PHOTOS

ISTOCK