Kitchen Garden Forum

I planted a half-bed of Red Epicure broad beans - they grew well, are now above waist-height and have had lots of flowers. The flowers are now dying off, but there is no sign of a pod - should there be?
The flowers were white with a black dot - perhaps not interesting enough for pollinating?? Anything I can do or should I give up and plant something else instead??
thanks!
Salimandre

Those flowers should soon show a little green sliver which will grow into a beanpod, water them and watch out for the blackfly they will hopefully show soon, when did you plant / sow them?


Compo

You're right!! thank you for keeping me patient...
When the blackened husks of dead flowers fall off, there is a tiny bean behind - which looks (if they all come through) like a good crop! Yippee!!!
(still an amateur - 6 out of 18 things worked last year - so hoping to improve this year, despite the slugs...)
cheers
Salimandre

Salimandre, one of the best tastes from an allotment is that of young broad beans. If you pick them when they are about 4 inches long, you can add them to salads or cook them ,cool them and toss them in olive oil and lemon juice [or anything you like for that matter]. the beans taste really full and sweet.

You thus get two crops of broad beans: these immature ones and the matture pods of beans. As the more you pick the more will grow, you are on a winner.

mie

Hi,
May I but in and say that Mike is talking about immature whole beans. These should only be picked if there is a real surfeit of beans coming.
JB.