Plant broad beans for a later winter harvest, advises Justin Newcombe.
When I hear the phrase "eat your beans" I automatically have a suppressed choking reflex which was not always all that suppressed.
In the past I'd try to pep talk my way through this trial by legume with a few catch phrases like "grin and bear it". If I received a particularly cruel serving from my sadistic caregivers there was "if you can get through this you can get through anything" while saved for absolute emergencies was the ever-comforting "pain is just weakness leaving the body" in between mouthfuls. As I've "grown up" this has become a distant-but-not-forgotten memory, largely thanks to the virtues of salt, butter and gravy. Interestingly the picture in my mind when I hear the phrase "eat your beans" is not of the bean I was forced against my will to eat (they were runner beans). That accolade falls at the feet of the broad bean - which I happen to like.
Broad beans are now a seasonal preference in the autumn garden as they are fast and relatively easy to grow. They require a reasonably free-draining soil and plenty of water to get good results. Broad beans also like a sunny spot which is fairly sheltered from the wind and do better in rows of two. Any more than this and shadow may become an issue, reducing the yield of the affected plants. Rows of two are also good because it is more efficient for the beans' primary pollinator, the bee. Other plants with a more open, softer flower can be pollinated by many insects, including flies, but the bee is one of the few pollinators strong enough to wriggle into the flower of the broad bean.
Seasonality of the broad bean and its relatively high yield are also encouraging reasons to propogate them. They grow through winter, taking about three to four months to produce beans. I like to plant mine in autumn and if the winter is a mild one - which, let's face it, seems to be the trend - I can hope to be tasting my first bean in late winter.
