[mashauk]

I've found so far:

Blackfly
Ants

and these grub type things that are sort of dark blue with orange spots on, that I've no idea what they are, I'm assuming some sort of butterfly?  They're quite pretty but I'm not sure are a good thing!  I've only been away for a week and it seems as though they are mainting their own eco system, is it too late to pinch out the tops once the blackfly are in situ?

[agapanthus]

The grub-type things are ladybird nymphs.....so DON'T get rid of them!!! The ants farm the blackfly to get the nectar-type sap from them after they've sucked on the beans!! If you either squish the blackfly or spray them with a washing-up liquid and water solution,this should help. If your beans are tall enough nip the tops out!

[peggyprice]

Last year I planted broad beans and (just by coincidence) nasturtiums nearby; the nasturtiums did a fantastic job of collecting the blackfly and the beans were untouched - brill   (specially since the beans were the only crop that survived out of tomatoes, peas, lettuce, sweetcorn ... wasn't a great start to my veg growing life  :? )

This year I planted my beans early and forgot all about the nasturtiums - so have had to buy half a dozen (expensive!) plants from the garden centre & am hoping they'll come into flower before the black fly get going ... :oops:

[mashauk]

I tried nasturtiums, unfortunately they haven't grown as quickly as the broad beans!  Thanks for the info re the ladybirds, they did look nice so I haven't touched them and will leave them be.  I've tried nipping off the tops but feared it was too late as everything is already covered in blackfly and last year we had lots of bean pods with hardly any (or tiny) beans in them.  I was thinking of using derris but I don't want to kill the ladybirds so I shan't now.

[pommes]

Hi!

I always plant Aquadulce broad beans in the Autumn. (Has to be on Bonfire Night, according to my Father-in-law!)  I rarely have any problems with black fly, although my Digitalis nearby is covered in it!
Have just had my first beans this weekend.

[mashauk]

I planted them in November last time, still got blackfly, same as planting them in Spring this year!

[peggyprice]

Have you thought of buying those frozen ones, I think Bird's Eye do some nice ones ...

[mashauk]

I don't even particularly like them actually!!!  Where's the fun in buying them?  I grow all sorts of things that I'm not mad on, some cos they're "good" for me, some just because I can and they look nice.  I was using up last years beans to be honest, and I probably won't do broad beans again next year as I've run out of space at the moment, in that bed we have peas, sugarsnaps, mangetouts, franch beans and runners.

[peggyprice]

funnily enough I know what you mean ... just like the growing, which is just as well since I very rarely seem to get anything to the point of actually cropping it  :?

[gobs]

funnily enough I know what you mean ... just like the growing, which is just as well since I very rarely seem to get anything to the point of actually cropping it  :?

Oh common, put your probs and questions in, that must be horrible, peeps will help!