[Bach in the DHSS]

sometime after sowing my broad beans I realised I had planted them not 5cm deep as suggested but 5 inches deep.

they have been down for about 3 weeks now and there is no sign of progress.

should I write these off and plant more in the same space at the correct depth?

[LilacSandy]

Dig down and see if anything has germinated, if so then scrape off most of the soil on top of them, if there is nothing there or they are rotting off you will need to start again.

[compostqueen]

Yep I'd do that too. Nothing to lose 

[grendel]

I did that with my onions, 3" deep instead of almost on the surface - kind of glad I did because then we had all that cold wet weather, and now they are poking their shoots up nicely - so no harm done.
Grendel

[Paul Plots]

If you have some spare seed I'd plonk a few more in (nearer the surface) to be on the safe side.

If you end up with more in one place than you need you can always carefully lift and transplant them. 

[fatbelly]

3 weeks for a BB to germinate and show it self isn't a long time.
 I have just planted by BB's after sowing them in pots to germinate. They took an absolute age to show and they were only sown about 2 inches down. But they look really healthy now.

[richrua]

bet you they pop up any day now. beans are great at finding the light. put one in a dark cupboard and you'll  see how strong they can reach up

[Salmo]

They will probably be OK. Farmers broadcast beans on the surface and plough them in. All you probably need is some warm days.

I would sow some more in modules just in case. If the originals show you will have a second row to plant or some plants to give away.

You can try digging down but be ready to curse when you knock a delicate shoot off.

[Totty]

They will be fine for sure

Totty