This morning I was picking broad beans and pondering their many benefits.
So . they are dead easy to grow though do need good rich soil and lots of water as the beans develop. Mine are in containers, 3 to 5 seeds per container, so they grow quite thickly but only need 1 stake in the middle to stop them falling over.
Once they are the height you want, pinch out the top young leaves and use like spinach. Young beans, say up to 100mm long, can be sliced like normal green beans, the skins are not furry. Middle sized beans can be podded and used like peas, no skinning needed. Big old ones can be cooked and skinned, with some left to dry for next year's seeds.
Broad bean plants are nitrogen fixing so improve the soil. They can be grown as a cover crop then dug in, chopped for mulch or go into the compost.
Plus they are delicious! (OK not the old grey skins so much.) Saw them in Moore Wilsons the other day for $9 a kilo - that buys a lot of seeds.
What's not to like!
maclad,
Dec 8, 3:37am
My grandies eat them raw when young and love them, they are one of my favourites along with brussel sprouts. Cannot understand why so many do not eat these veges, even if just for more variety.
rainrain1,
Dec 8, 4:03am
I love them too, but don't grow them, gona do it next season though. I like them peeled in a salad, as well as in their skins
mardi5,
Dec 8, 5:11am
Yum sadly mine have just finished
fhpottery,
Dec 8, 6:08am
I know they are great but not everyones cup of tea. Ive just picked so many and will blanch them and double pod. There are some good recipes for broad bean pesto on you Tube. Also Falafel. I reckon they are an amazing underated vege. (My dad detests them and thinks they should be used as a punishment!)
maclad,
Dec 8, 6:58am
Your Dad is missing out , try re educating him
samanya,
Dec 8, 7:00am
Mine, too. & I like them with or without their skins.
oh_hunnihunni,
Dec 8, 8:48am
The flowers are wonderfully perfumed too.
artemis,
Dec 8, 5:33pm
Very true, and a magnet for bees.
katalin2,
Dec 9, 1:32am
Made a huge broadbean salad last night that was delish- cooked broad beans, didn't double pod, mixed in a hunk of blue cheese while hot, a slosh of balsamic , added finely chopped cooked bacon and sliced cooked mushrooms, added cooked asparagus, red onion, red pepper and fresh coriander, all the family loved it. Have enough for a couple more salads before I pull them out. It was a meal in itself, we had it over lettuce leaves.
maclad,
Dec 9, 3:20am
Sounds yummy
pugswal,
Dec 9, 5:25am
Try the ones called Evergreen. Green skins, not grey.
meoldchina,
Dec 9, 9:09am
I agree with you Artemis. Broad beans are under-rated. I grow mine in the greenhouse from early May just because I might aswell grow something in the greenhouse over winter. They were supposed to be ready to harvest in August but I've only been eating them over the last 6 weeks and now they are over. I like your idea of using them as mulch. Unfortunately, something has has caused the plants to turn yellow, lose their leaves and perish. I hope this isn't a disease that can be transferred to the plants I'll be mulching. I did have a lot of ants crawling over the plants.
blans,
Dec 10, 8:16am
Is there a secret to podding broad beans,they a whole lot slower going than peas but worth the effort.
materna,
Dec 10, 8:27am
I did wonder if you can eat broad bean leaves. Gonna pinch some for my soup tomorrow. I cannot wait for mine to be ready.
les6,
Dec 10, 8:54am
years ago when we had our first daughter,we had a pile of broadbeans from somewhere or other and decided to give her fresh veges. Dutifully podded and steamed some up and took off the skins and moullied them up,she was fed them and did not seem to mind? after a short while and well into the night she was screaming with wind like you wouldn't believe ,She survived ok but not sure if she likes broadbeans or not?
maclad,
Dec 10, 8:17pm
Quickest way I find is to snap pod then push bean from behind, it pops out, repeat for each bean, faster than shelling like peas.
jcwholesale,
Dec 11, 5:42am
They are the most disgusting thing God ever grew, my mother 40 years ago used to cook them until they were grey, the skin busted & the stuff inside would spread over your tongue with the most veil pasty texture I almost vomited. Same with brussel sprouts which were more white than green, another absolute no no for me, can't even look at them. I know cooking them has changed for the better, but the memory is similar to going to the dental nurse at primary school 50 years ago. Terrifying Who remembers that, someone would come into your class at primary school and say it's your turn to go to the dental nurse. Oh God no. LOL
quiz3,
Dec 11, 9:22am
Never liked Broad beans years ago but now I plant 50 seeds and have a wonderful crop. Bumble b's love the flowers, friends love the beans. What is "double pod" by the way. Never heard of it !
justbrowsing99,
Dec 11, 9:47am
That's how my mother cooked them - I detest even the look of them nowadays.
justbrowsing99,
Dec 11, 9:49am
[quote] Who remembers that, someone would come into your class at primary school and say it's your turn to go to the dental nurse. Oh God no. LOL[/quote] We called it the murder house.
artemis,
Dec 12, 4:50am
I think what was meant was take the beans out of the pod then remove the skins - those grey tough skins- before or after cooking.
ourbugaloo,
Dec 12, 5:00am
artemis, no, just looking at a Broad Bean or a Brussel Sprout makes me feel ill. Nothing in the world will change that, skin on or off. Same as the Murder House, dentists terrify me, cold sweats, quivering in my boots even now when I know they are not as bad as my memory.
samanya,
Dec 12, 5:00am
I live in the same area & mine are finished. I do plant them before the winter though & I read somewhere recently that it's worth putting some in now, to be ready before winter. haven't tried it. One year I noticed that they were growing from the base, as they were finishing so I cut them back,& they regrew & I had a few feeds in autumn.
ourbugaloo,
Dec 12, 5:05am
Oh god you guys are sick, sorry
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