[Growster...]

Most of our broad beans are doing well, but we've had a spate of pods with beans looking like this!

I hope the pic explains all, but they seem to be blackened down the 'seam' side, and they're not all that nice to look at, (although the dog likes them)...

Any clues as to what's wrong please?

[azubah]

Haven't a clue.
Could you post a lighter picture, please?
Do they taste as they should?
I was told that uncooked beans could make you ill. Is the dog still OK?

[lettice]

Very dark green beans there too, but is that just the lack of light.
Its as if they are scorched.
Were the pods ok?

[LotuSeed]

I lightened it up for you. Hope you don't mind.

[Growster...]

I lightened it up for you. Hope you don't mind.

Hey, thank you, Lotus! I had done a Picasa lightening, but when I posted it, it was still dark!

Anyway, you've helped me out, so thank you again!

[Growster...]

Very dark green beans there too, but is that just the lack of light.
Its as if they are scorched.
Were the pods ok?

The pods look just normal, Lettice, Mrs Growster just 'exclaims' when she gets some which have beans like these...

[Mrs Bee]

They look like magic beans to me.

Plant them straight away and go and find the Goose Girl to lay you a golden egg.

I'll bring a drugged cake to sort out the giant.

[pigguns]

Mine look like this - I thought it was to do with once the chocolate spot gets hold?

[jaydig]

If more of us start to find the same sort of damage when (or, if) we have broad beans to harvest, could it be possible that it's a result of the really heavy infestations of black fly we've all suffered from this year. Can the beans be affected by the stress caused to the plants?

[lettice]

Was looking everywhere on the net this morning and cannot find any reference to this scorched look.
Even searched for fava beans too.

Just in case you forget what they should look like (not rubbing it in).
Had my first picking today of my Bunyards Exhibition, yum!

[Goosegirl]

They look like magic beans to me.

Plant them straight away and go and find the Goose Girl to lay you a golden egg.

I'll bring a drugged cake to sort out the giant.

Did somebody call me??  Well - looking in my RHS book of pests and diseases re- broad bean problems, all I can find is that chocolate Spot can affect the seed coat as well as leaves and pods. If their leaves aren't showing signs of that then could it be due to intermittent watering which has made them split making them prone to something else? Not a lot of help I'm afraind and yes- raw beans are poisonous but how many you have to eat to be ill I haven't a clue.

[Growster...]

Thank you all, but it's not chocolate spot as the plants are green and healthy, and it's just the actual beans which seem to take on this long black scar along one side...

The dog still likes 'em though, while Mrs Growster spurns them from her kitchen!

[azubah]

I'm afraid I am with mrs Growster. I don't like the look of them either. What do they look like under the skin?

[Growster...]

I haven't actually looked, Azubah, and wonder why I haven't done so... Next time, I'll check!

Theres absolutely no blackfly on them as I was down there an hour ago, poking around! These were some we bought from a garden centre, as I completely forgot to get some going earlier, but some later ones I did sow are coming on fine!

[Goosegirl]

Sorry Growster - they looked like they had been skinned as the varieties we have grown in the past have had a much paler green skin, so I'm no use here.