No broad beans showing?

[Salimandre]

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

[Compo]

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

[Salimandre]

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

[Mike Vogel]

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

[Johnboy]

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.