Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Sideways on December 08, 2009, 20:22

Title: Broad beans in flower...
Post by: Sideways on December 08, 2009, 20:22
Hi all,

I planted six rows of broad beans at the end of Oct for over winter growing, I did this last year with great success. Plants are currently growing well and standing around two feet high.

Dropped by the plot today and noticed that a good dozen or so plants are in flower   :unsure:

What to do? Pinch off the flowers or simply leave alone?

Thanks.
Title: Re: Broad beans in flower...
Post by: DavidT on December 08, 2009, 20:51
Personally I`d leave them alone, just to see what happens. :D
Title: Re: Broad beans in flower...
Post by: Chuffy on December 08, 2009, 21:52
Sit back and wait for the winter bees! :happy:
I should probably go and check on mine... ???
Title: Re: Broad beans in flower...
Post by: Salmo on December 08, 2009, 23:04
Two foot high! Are they under cover. They obviously think it is Spring. These flowers are very unlikely to produce beans. They may produce more flowers in the Spring.

I suspect that these plants will suffer badly through the Winter, either with frost or wind. They may well shoot out tillers from the bottom in the Spring, in which case they could produce a good crop.

My advice is to leave them alone and see what happens but be prepared to pull them up and replant.
Title: Re: Broad beans in flower...
Post by: Elcie on December 09, 2009, 08:18
This has happened to one of my plants too.  I have decided just to leave it and see what happens.  You never know!
Title: Re: Broad beans in flower...
Post by: Sideways on December 09, 2009, 09:10
Thanks all.

The plants are well supported, I may loose one or two stems (as I did last year) but the majority should still be standidng when Spring arrives. I remember digging them out of the snow last year, no problem. Last years crop from the plants I planted the previous Autumn was incredible, an abundance of huge pods and beans, and they grew to over five feet tall!