[Kajazy]

Hello,

I've got some smallish broad bean plants on the plot and today I notice 2 things

1) I think I found a pea and bean weevil having a good old chomp and there are holes in the leaves - what to do?

and

2) there are ants climbing up and down them - I couldn't see any blackfly (are they big enough to see with the naked eye?) - any ideas? Is this a problem?

Thanks for helping a complete novice...!

[mumofstig]

pea and bean weevil attack looks a bit nasty but doesn't usually bother the plants.

If there are ants they will be milking aphids green or black, perhaps you need to pinch the tops out

[fatbelly]

My BB's are hardly 8 inches tall yet.
Anyone else's lagging behind?

[Dotty]

Sorry to barge in on your thread but i thought it better than making 2 about the same plant!

I am a complete novice too and have a couple of broad bean plants. Never tried them before. They are about 12" high but i noticed both have flowers appearing at the top. Do i pinch them off or leave them?

[Kajazy]

Mine are about 8 inches high too.

Re. pinching off the tops - my understanding was that you do this when the first pod/s start to form.

Anyone got any better info? As I say, I'm a complete novice!

[Lardman]

If you can't see black fly and you will see them soon enough, leave the tops alone.

Mine are a little on the late side this year - but I sow direct.

[lancashiregardeninggal]

Sorry to barge in on your thread but i thought it better than making 2 about the same plant!

I am a complete novice too and have a couple of broad bean plants. Never tried them before. They are about 12" high but i noticed both have flowers appearing at the top. Do i pinch them off or leave them?

Leave the flowers - as the beans form from the flowers - you only need to pinch of the tops if there is a blackfly infestation 

[shuffle]

I'm only in my second year but both years have noticed lots of ants going up and down the broad beans early on before I've seen any aphids around.  They seem to turn up at about the same time the weevils do - do they have any kind of 'relationship' (romantic or otherwise)

[poodle]

My BB have stayed the same height of about six inches for the last month, but now with flowers. It is so dry in Suffolk with barely a shower of rain for the last two months. Watering all the produce  just to keep them moving. Am told that a local seed supplier is concerned about a possible shortage of BB seeds if we carry on with this dry weather for much longer.