Your comments and tips

04 Nov 13, Michael (Australia - temperate climate)

I've planted my purchased broad beans seeds just before September, almost at the start of our Spring season here in Berwick, Victoria. Australia. I prepared the soil three weeks earlier, just tilled it to kill the grass and then formed several lines of raised beds - as always - for drainage. I planted the seeds not on top of the raised mounts but slightly offside and in a zig-zag pattern between seeds. Now they are around 70cm high and in flower. Broad beans can tolerate a variety of soil condition and full sun. They also love having companions plants. I planted potatoes, radishes, silver beets and beetroots spaced between them and accordingly the tallest goes at the back and the shortest at the front, so that each gets sunlight even in late afternoon. (Edited)

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13 Jul 13, Ron (Australia - temperate climate)

How tall do broad bean plants eventually grow to

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22 Jul 13, (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

It varies. I had some dwarf ones grow to about a metre, and others to 1.5 metre

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30 Jun 13, ron hutton (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

what fertiliser do i use for my broadbeans. potash ?

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03 Aug 13, Gene (Australia - temperate climate)

Broad Beans don't need any fertiliser. They produce heaps of nitrogen on their own and can be used as a green fertiliser crop themselves. Some people even grow two or three around their fruit trees in winter for the additional nitrogen they produce. When you're finished with the crop, don't pull them out. Cut them off and leave the roots in the ground to break down. It's ideal to use the plot for growing plants that need high nitrogen in next - such as your leafy greens.

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01 Dec 21, Celeste Archer (Canada - Zone 7b Mild Temperate climate)

Though Broad beans like all beans fix their own nitrogen, they still need micro nutrients, as well as phosphorus, and potassium (macro nutrients). I find that adding a dose of micronutrients to the just planted seed soil gets them going faster, I hear that phosphorus works like an alarm clock. I also hit them with any kind of manure I can source; chicken, steer, cattle, sheep, alpaca.. whatever.

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11 Jun 13, Ally Millington (Australia - temperate climate)

Growing Broad Beans for the first time - we had a storm during the week and some of the stems/leaves got damaged so I pruned them off and tied them up... will they be ok?

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14 May 13, Paul (Australia - temperate climate)

I planted the Broad beans in March the plants are 1 meter high . .I have had the white flowers come on the stems but have not got any bean pods . Am i doing something wrong or do i need to do something else ?

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30 Jun 13, (Australia - temperate climate)

You can try fertilising the flowers yourself with a cotton bud or wait till it warms up and the bees will do it for you! It may still be too cold for pods to set also :)

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05 Jun 13, Nicolas Connault (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Same here, Paul, got some white flowers on some of the plants, they've gone now and I can't see any pods. However, an old gardener friend of mine smiled when I told her and she said: "Be patient, Nicolas, be patient, they'll come!". So I'm following her advice :-)

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