[al78]

First year with a full plot, have been growing broad beans from an autumn sowing. The ones directly sown didn't come to anything so had to sow in pots at home and plant out in spring. Spring direct sown ones were also patchy with most failing with the result that the bed itself looks rather patchy and random (I did put chicken manure pellets down). Had to go up at least 3x per week during spring to pick slugs off by torchlight, otherwise I would (likely) have no crop.

A friend of mine started a half plot this year the next but one along from mine. I visited it this morning and, wow, what a magnificent crop of broad beans at least a meter high, plus potatoes full of vibrant foliage. She and her husband's method was as follows:

1. Put seeds in ground.
2. Leave them to grow.

That's it. No feeding, no slug control, nothing else, just let them get on with it. All but one of their broad beans that were direct sown germinated and are now looking like a dense canopy. They are going to be eating broad beans from now until the end of the year by the look of things.

So much for 'you only get out what you put in'   

[Yorkie]

You can go off people, can't you? 

[diospyros]

I also sowed broad beans in autumn.  They were a bit patchy though (some was very old seed) and I did move a load to consolidate the patch when they were a few inches high.  They're now enormous and rather crowded.  I had no idea slugs liked broad beans, and I'm not short of slugs because virtually everything else on the plot has been decimated!

Dd your friend use a different variety?

[New shoot]

Dd your friend use a different variety?

That's well worth checking out.  It is amazing sometimes how different varieties do in different areas.

I've never had much luck with overwintered broad beans on my plot, but I sowed Wizard beans last autumn directly into the soil, then pretty much walked away and left them to it.  They don't have supporting strings or anything, but are standing tall and loaded with pods 

These are old fashioned field beans (Real Seeds have them) so the pods and beans are smaller and you only get 3-4 beans per pod, but they are so prolific they make up for this.  They come true to seed as well, so you only buy them once.  I have several people on our site eagerly awaiting the seed crop

[AnneB]

I am with New Shoot on the Wizard field beans.   I too struggled with broad beans, having tried both Aquadulce with poorish results, and crimson flowered, slightly better but nothing to write home about apart from the pretty flowers.   I lost plants to pea and bean weevil, terrible chocolate spot and slugs and usually had to re-sow several plants.   I used to get a crop, but not enough for the family really.

With some scepticism I tried Wizard as an autumn sown variety.  They have taken off now and are now about 4'6" tall and absolutely loaded with pods and don't flop all over the place.   They grew through the standard weevil attack on my plot and remain unaffected by chocolate spot and seem immune to slugs.   I haven't even had to give them any sort of nutrient boost.  Haven't picked any yet, but they are not far off.  If the taste is good, I won't be growing any other sort of broad bean from now on.     

[New shoot]

If the taste is good     

It is, so look forward to lots of tasty beany dinners to come   Mine have also been sampled by the prospective seed recipients and declared to be good 

[snow white]

My autumn sown beans failed this year so I sowed in modules and had good success.  I fed them chix pellets once then left them to it.  Great success.  I used Sutton and karmazyn. 

[al78]

Mine were Aquadulce, it seems my experience is similar to a few others. The taste seems rather bland as well.

I'll try the field beans this autumn. I always thought of field beans as a green manure, didn't know they could be left to crop and eaten as well.

[Laurentius]

Broad Beans seem to be the only thing that is doing really well on my allotment, no trouble with slugs, no trouble with blackfly. Bunyards Exhibition saved from last years crop