Bank Holiday Broad Beans

Posted on 27. Dec, 2011 by Tracey in Veg Plot

Bank holiday is a good time to get out and about and check on my back garden veggies. So far I’m sticking to my winter watering tip of “no watering in winter, let the weather do it for you” as I haven’t watered my winter seedlings since they were sowed at the end of October.

Broad Bean Plot

Look at them now, admittedly they are trailing a bit along the ground however I find Broad Bean plants quite robust and with the exception of blackened tips of their leaves when frost has struck (I’ve got a few of those), they tend to get through the worst of the winter including last years snow. Thats another reason why I like growing winter vegetables so much as they are strong and happily grow away until springtime.

My peas (douce provence) are small probably because they were interplanted between the rows of broad beans but do not show any signs of frost damage which I was aiming for, and this variety of pea is very reliable for winter growing.

Unexpectedly also growing in my Winter plot is the late re-emergence of Kale Fizz, it’s positively blooming in this mild weather and I’ve also got lots of rocket as well.

Kale 'Frost Hardy' Fizz

Unfortunately if you do take you eye off the vegetable plot, especially to new vegetable seedlings you haven’t sown before, then unexplained disappearances can occur. There are a number of reasons for this, including cold temperatures, pests in the soil, seedlings rotting and disappearing.

My winter seedling disappearances include:

Winter Cauliflower,
Turnip,
Spicy Leaves

Unfortunately it’s just the way nature deals the cards and as I’m not one to give up on things easily, better luck next time!

2 Responses to “Bank Holiday Broad Beans”

Alex

06. Jan, 2012

Hi Tracey, I came to your site looking for an idea of which windowsill to chit potatoes on, and found this really useful post too! I’ve also got overwintering Broad Beans (Aquadulce) and Peas (Alderman) started in October, and they’re looking good so far. They are in Gro-beds (about 9in deep compost) because I have almost as much hard surface as ‘real’ garden and can’t do much about that.

From your photos you don’t see to have staked or tied them – is that intentional? I haven’t either but I was about to, given all this howling weather we’ve been having. Would that be treating them too soft and I should let them tough it out?!? Thanks!
Tracey

07. Jan, 2012

Hi Alex,

Thanks for stopping by at my blog. Windowsills to chit potatoes on should not be too cold or frosty otherwise those little white growing tips may turn black. More info here: Potato Chitting Problems

As for the broad beans, I do tend to stake them when they have reached 6 to 12 inches high, which is around now, just to keep them off the wet soil. I’ll loosely tie them to a stake as they are not upright at the mo. I have in the past also used stakes at either end of the rows and used twine to tie to each stake doing a sort of boundary to keep them upright in high wind. I don’t stake at the beginning as I’m not sure which way they might grow up out for the ground.

Happy Growing!
Best Wishes
Tracey