Kitchen Garden Forum

I'm getting fed up with staking Masterpiece Green Longpod Broad Beans and am thinking of trying a shorter one. Like quite a few people on here we have grown these for many years for their superior flavour. There seem to be a few shorter green seeded varieties about now and I wondered if anybody could recommend any of them. Please don't suggest The Sutton or any of the other (nasty) grey things.

Crimson Flowered broad bean is a nice neat one, has green beans and looks pretty. I also grow Stereo which has small tender beans. I don't grow them at the same time as they cross easily and I like to save seeds for next year (or the following year).

'de Monica' is shorter than Masterpiece Green Longpod, Geoff, and certainly very productive and tasty. I first bought the seeds because of the name, just for a bit of fun, but I have grown them ever since. This last summer they did very well indeed whereas MGL were dire. The reason, I think, was that de Monica flowered earlier when there were lots of pollinators about but then the weather turned cooler and MGL were insufficiently pollinated.

How timely Monika - thank you! I've chosen that for my broad bean as well this year & great to hear from someone that has grown them to confirm they are reliable! I fail every year from autumn sowings so liked the 'blurb' that said very early even from a spring sowing!

Thanks. Sounds a possibility but had to search a lot of suppliers before one told me they are just over a metre tall.