I’ve only ever tried seed saving once before with my runner bean seeds and to my horror they became a mouldy mess in the bottom of a brown paper bag. Urgh!

Back Garden Seed Saving

This time I thought I’d try again with the Mange Tout ‘Golden Sweet’ plants which have now dried out in the sun and some expert advice from The Real Seed Catalogue.

I’ve also decided to buy the following book Back Garden Seed Saving: Keeping Our Vegetable Heritage Alive as I’m quite intrigued to know more about vegetable seed saving as I’ve always thought of seed saving as something difficult to do but I’m sure I’m about to be proven wrong when I read this book.

Saving Mange Tout Seeds

You will need:

1. A few dying off Mange Tout Plants,
2. A washing line or shed (to dry the pea pods) or leave the plant in the sun to dry,
3. A pot to collect the pods/seeds in,
4. Little plastic ziplock bags (to save the seeds in),
5. Sticky labels to mark what seeds have been saved.

Cutting off Mange Tout Stems

Step 1
If your plants are already dying off and the leaves have turned brown, cut the bottom of the mange tout stems close to the ground or pull them out of the ground (which ever is easiest). Then pick any dried and green pods still on the plant and put them into a pot.

Step 2
If the plants are still green or the plants are not completely dry, either in dry weather hang from a washing line to air dry or in wet weather hang upside down in a shed.

Mange Tout Seed Pods

Step 3
Take or cut the peas out of the pods. Then dry the peas in a container in a warm place. I’ve chosen on the windowsill or in the airing cupboard.

Step 4
When the peas are dried they will be brown, wrinkled and hard, place them into ziplock bags, label and store until next year.

Other Mange Tout Posts you may be interested in:

• Mange Tout Rodney Mange Tout
• All About Mange Tout ‘Golden Sweet’
• How To Grow Mange Tout
• Flowering Vegetables To Brighten Up Your Back Garden
• Saving Nasturtiums Seeds - 5 Reasons Why You Should Grow Nasturtiums Near Vegetables

For more advice, tips, harvests, what to sow now and next, why not keep up to date by signing up to my monthly newsletter? Sign Up to My iGrowVeg Newsletter here.

Here is my modest Carrot and French Bean harvest, not as sizeable as last years summer harvest but the carrots have definitely performed better this year with still loads more in the ground ready to harvest.

Carrots

Varieties Grown: Heritage ‘Beta III’ and ‘Scarlet Horn’.
See Post: Sowing carrots and other Veg in April

Bright Orange 'Beta 3' Carrots

Carrots Timeline:
Sowed: 6th April 2010
Harvested: 21st July 2010
No of Weeks: 15 Weeks

Comments on Carrots: They started off growing really slowly and had to be thinned out as they were too bunched together, this is when the spurt of growth began. I love growing carrots and I like to keep them in the ground until I need them in the kitchen.

French Beans

Varieties Grown: Heritage ‘Gauk’, ‘Maxi’ and ‘Major’ (Major yellow is being attacked by black-fly).
See Post: Sowing French Beans in Root-Trainers

'Gauk' Heritage Bean Harvest

Sowed: 3rd June 2010
Harvested: 21st July 2010
No of Weeks: 7 Weeks

Comments on French Beans:
My french beans have grown really quick this year even though they were off to a shaky start when they were planted into the raised plots and then quickly attacked by black-fly. I repeatedly squished the black-fly every few days. The molted red and green beans are ‘Gauk’, a heritage variety and the thin fine beans are ‘Maxi’.

Potatoes

Varieties Grown: Highland Burgundy (red flesh even when cooked), Pink Fir and Intl Kidney.
See Post: Potatoes Planted – Better Late than Never

Highland Burgundy Potatoes

Planted in Pots: 21st May 2010

Comments on Potatoes:
I have yet to venture into the pots of potatoes (as they were planted late, I’ve decided to leave them to it).

However now I’ve said this I can guarantee the curiosity will get the better of me at the weekend as I’ll dig down the pot with my fingers to try and find a few potatoes, photos to follow on that one!

Other Posts you may find interesting:

• Last Year’s Summer Harvest
• Top Ten Tips to Keep Your Vegetables Happy on Sunny Days
• 5 Common Pests and Diseases of Peas and Beans
• And the best vegetable performance award goes to…My Carrots
• 5 Reasons Why You Should Grow Nasturtiums Near Vegetables

My Monthly Newsletter is released at the end of the month,
Sign Up Now! to keep up to date with all the latest vegetable growing news on my plot, tips, advice and more.

Hopefully since the last Part 6 – Putting Your Plan into Action, you’ve reaped the rewards from your growing vegetables by having a few good harvests and more to come before the end of the Summer.

In the months of July and August in the UK, you will now now need to be thinking about winter vegetables. Sow seeds by late August for the vegetables that you will want harvest in the next few months and into next year.

Action Plan

1. Check seed catalogues and online websites for autumn and winter growing vegetables,
2. View my Winter Vegetable Growing Guides for inspiration on what to grow,
3. Read my tips on Vegetable Seeds to Sow in July, August, September, October and November for seeds and sets to plant out in the next few months,
4. If you want to know what vegetables will be ready to harvest at Christmas – please view my 3 Part Series – The 12 Vegetables of Christmas.

Planning for Winter Vegetables

Thats right, its out with the pencils and paper or logging back into PlanGarden.com to renew your vegetable garden plans for the next few months.

Step 1 – Work out which areas are free to sow seeds in

Step 1 - Draw your Plot

With the vegetables already growing in your plot, write down the approx months they will be ready to harvest to see how much space you will have left to sow/plant your winter vegetables.

If there are vegetables almost dying off and ready to be pulled out, use this space in your plan to sow winter vegetables.

For example:
In Plot 1, I have:

• Onions – ready to harvest,
• Mange Tout – dying off,
• French Beans – producing beans,
• Kohl Rabi, Kale and Broccoli – Seedlings.

Mange Tout – As the mange Tout is dying off, it will be ready to pull out in a few weeks, I will mark this area as blank space for winter sowings.

Onions are ready to harvest, they were being stored in the ground so again they will be harvested and this area marked as blank space.

French Beans are currently being harvested but there’s still tiny beans growing so it will be a while before they are harvested, I’m guessing mid August at the earliest. This is ok because onion, shallots, broad beans and peas can be sown or planted in October and November so this space could be used for that purpose.

If you didn’t want to leave the soil bare for 1 or 2 months, radishes or loose leaf lettuces can still be sown now for you to harvest in September.

Kohl Rabi, Kale and Broccoli Seedlings – This space will be marked as taken for the rest of the year. I would probably use this space to sow next years very early carrot sowings in February.

Step 2 – Things To Consider

New Cloche on Raised Beds

Crop Rotation
If you are considering Crop Rotation, please refer back to Part 1 – Grouping Vegetable Types to help you plan for a change in your plots as this is the best time to do it before winter sowings are made.

Cloche Cover
As the weather and temperatures get colder from late September to October onwards in the UK, it is worth making or buying a cloche to cover your vulnerable vegetables throughout the winter until spring when the ground warms up again. Cloches made from enviromesh or horticultural fleece are valuable as they don’t allow frost to penetrate to your vegetables. These netting materials are widely available and on Ebay.

Pests and Diseases
Before sowing your winter vegetables or covering your area with a cloche, check other plants in your area for pests and diseases. Identify whether they could be a problem to the crop you are growing or will they be under control by the time a cloche is used. Otherwise the pest or disease may spread to your other plants. For example Caterpillars can be a pest problem in late summer to autumn.

Step 3 – Extra Care Needed in Winter

Frost

Frosty Leaf

Please read my post on The affects of Snow, Ice and the Cold on your Vegetable Garden to find out the advantages and disadvantages of harsh weather.

To find out your Frost dates, please use these external links:

• UK Frost Dates by Town,
• USA Frost Dates by State,
• Australia Frost Dates by Town.

Snow

Snow is a danger to vegetables especially as it can freeze into ice and expand and contract when melted. It should also be removed as soon as possible from cloches as they may cause them to collapse under the weight.

Please click here for more information on the 10 Vegetables That Can Survive the Snow.

If you have missed any of the Parts in my Planning Your Vegetable Garden Series, please see below:

• Part 1 – Grouping Vegetable Types and Crop Rotation,
• Part 2 – What Can I Grow?
• Part 3a – Drawing a Plan
• Part 3b – Creating a Plan Online
• Part 4 – Choosing your Seeds
• Part 5 – My Vegetable Plan and Seed List
• Part 6 – Putting Your Plan into Action
• For Free PDF’s and Templates to accompany the series, please view my Free Resources.

Every year I grow Tomatoes even though I say its not worth the effort this year, I grow them anyway. I have a love hate relationship with them every year.

Out of all the vegetables to grow, most people start vegetable growing with tomatoes and I think they are the most attention seeking vegetables of all, requiring lots of care with watering, fertilising and pot swapping. Then there’s the pest control with aphids, blackfly, slugs, snails and the dreaded blight. Oh and then there’s the more watering and waiting nearly six months to reap any kind of harvest, thats if your lucky enough to get some tomatoes before any disease strikes your plants through no fault of your own.

If you get through all that and your a beginner vegetable grower, you deserve a medal and will go far in the vegetable growing world!

As any other vegetables in comparison like radishes, lettuce, chard, mange tout, french beans, runner beans, potatoes, onions, beetroot are far less painful to grow, don’t nearly require as much work, care or attention and still give you a great harvest in less amount of time.

Tomatoes

I know I make my life a lot harder by growing tomatoes in pots as they dry out a lot quicker than if I grew them in raised beds and this is half my battle. The other half is they require nurturing and watering in a mini-greenhouse for the first part of their lives where I forget to water them and forget to lift the lid on hot days which doesn’t help their growth.

For me growing tomatoes in pots is a battle for me to keep them alive, this is probably something you can’t believe that I’m saying for a such a keen vegetable grower but I’m an outdoor vegetable grower through and through. I watch the weather forecast closely and check when I can get my next free rainfall and when the next hot spell will be so I know when to water.

Yellow Pear Tomatoes (feeling neglected)

So I know your dying to ask, am I growing Tomatoes this year?

Yes of course I am, with all my gripes about growing them and the fact they are so needy, I still end up falling for the glossy fruit in the seed catalogues and think I’ll give it one more go, thinking I surely can’t be plagued by blackfly every year?! Can I?! Yes I can and have again this year.

Here’s a picture of my Tomato Plants which I decided to plant in my raised beds to save myself a headache on watering:

Tomato Plant in Raised Bed

Variety I’m Growing this year is: Yellow Centiflor.

Other Tomato Related Posts:

• Growing Tomatoes
• Potting On Tomatoes
• Tomatoes – Are Yours Red Yet?
• Tomato and Potato Blight Disease
• Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Peppers on the Deck.

Keep up to date with how my vegetables are growing, tips, advice and what to sow now and next – Sign up to my iGrowVeg Monthly Newsletter here.

Now I’m not about to moan at the weather, no not one bit (even though us Brits are famed for it), I’m grateful we’ve had brilliant sunshine for a few weeks (on and off and hopefully still for a few more months yet) however sudden hot weather and hot temperatures are not good for growing spinach and chard.

When you’ve grown vegetables for more than a few years, you begin to realise its not always going to be the best weather conditions that year for all of your vegetables to succeed, there will always be one type of vegetable (or more if you are unlucky) that is not growing so well or a complete disappointment – in my case my spinach, perpetual spinach and chard.

Flower head on Bolting Spinach

I grew Chard in my very first beginners year at growing vegetables and it didn’t grow to its full height but this year I thought I’d try it again with a variety called ‘Golden’ Chard from the Real Seed Catalogue which looked really lovely in their pictures and I was really quite excited to grow.

However this year was not to be for my Golden Chard which bolted even before I got to see anything golden about it.

Spinach Reddy - Bolted

Similarly with my Spinach ‘Reddy’ I did get to pick a few leaves before it went stringy and tasteless and then bolted (flowered and set seed).

I’ve learnt through reading vegetable growing books that if your spinach usually bolts in the summer then try growing perpetual spinach alongside it. As it belongs to the beetroot family and known as leaf beat, it is more likely not to bolt, so you will be getting some spinach out of the seasons crop. I’ve always put this into practise including this year but somehow this year my perpetual spinach has bolted as well!

Which Vegetables have disappointed you this year?

Other Progress Updates on my Plot:

Perpetual Spinach Leaves

• Growing Beetroot – Mid July Update
• June Harvests and Hedgehogs
• Harvesting Radishes – Pretty in Pink
• Vegetable Plot Update for May with Photos

Keep up to date with how my vegetables are growing, tips, advice and what to sow now and next – Sign up to my iGrowVeg Monthly Newsletter here.

I’m glad to report that my beetroot is growing very successfully under cloche number 3 next to the perpetual spinach and heritage carrots.

The main tips for growing success I’m following are water at soil level and not from above to prevent blotches on the leaves (I was watering above to start with, but now the blotches have disappeared) and I’m clearing away the leaf debris on the soil from the old leaves turning yellow to brown to prevent any pests or diseases living off the soggy leaves. I’m also saving water by not watering the root daily.

How is your Beetroot doing this year?

Please click here to see my photo slideshow of my Beetroot progress throughout the last 13 weeks.

If you want to read more advice about growing beetroot, please view my:-

• Top Tips on How To Grow Beetroot
• 10 Reasons To Grow Beetroot – My Favourite Vegetable
• Variety I’m Growing this year is: Moneta

Keep up to date with how my vegetables are growing, tips, advice and what to sow now and next – Sign up to my iGrowVeg Monthly Newsletter here.

Nasturtiums are a natural method of pest control in your garden and have striking red, yellow and orange flowers in between their large umbrella shaped leaves which provide an attraction in your pots or borders not just for you but for many bugs and pests as well.

Nasturtiums are grown from seed very easily from March to July and flowering all summer until September. They grow in old non fertilised soil (if there’s too much compost you may only get leaves and no flowers) and they take care of themselves once established.

Why should you grow them near to your vegetable plot?

1. They are well known for attracting aphid infestations

Blackfly on underside of Nasturtium Leaf

You may think this is not such a good reason to grow them, however nasturtiums leaves are like a homing beacon of the plant world for aphids (particularly black aphids or blackfly) which means if they are on the nasturtiums, they (hopefully) won’t be attracted to your tomato, pepper, bean, strawberry, cabbage and lettuce plants. Nasturtiums are a diversionary tactic to move aphids away from your prized fruit and vegetables.

My Experience with Nasturtiums and Black Aphids:
This year I have grown nasturtiums in pots on my deck which is approx 5 or 6 feet away from my raised beds. As you can see from the picture, its like aphid world on my nasturtiums as the moment and I’m pleased to say even though initially I did have some blackfly on my french beans, they have now gone and the plants have recovered.

2. Cabbage White Butterflies like their large leaves.

Cabbage White Butterfly

Again not a good reason to grow nasturtiums you would have thought, however they are invaluable for the life of your cabbages.

Not only do Nasturiums attract butterflies into your garden, they have a powerful magnet attraction to cabbage white butterflies in particular to lay their bright yellow eggs on the underside of the leaves. This is easy to do for them as the surface area of the leaves is large and the leaf is an umbrella shape enabling the butterfly to sit without being disturbed.

If the butterflies are more interested in the nasturtium leaves, they will be hopefully less interested in your cabbage leaves. See the damage caterpillars can do once hatched on your cabbage leaves, believe me you will try anything to get rid of them.

My Experience with Nasturtiums and Cabbage White Butterflies:
I have seen loads of cabbage white butterflies around and siting on my nasturtiums plants. Although my cabbages are covered with a cloche, last year the cabbage white’s still managed to get into to cloche when I was weeding without me noticing when I put it back. This year I’m using the nasturtiums as a diversion and weeding in the evening when no butterflies are around!

3. Slugs go to Nasturtiums like a moth to a light bulb.

Nasturtium Flowers

Nasturtiums are just one big pest magnet, I’ve never known a plant like it. They also attract slugs because of their large juicy green leaves. All though by now you may not have any plants left if they have been attacked by caterpillars and aphids.

My Experience with Nasturtiums and Slugs:
None I’m afraid as I didn’t previously know this until researching this post, but now I do know I’ll be sowing nasturtiums next March before the big slug breakout, results will be posted here next year.

4. They protect your vegetables from predatory insects

Blackfly on Leaf

Growing Nasturtiums helps the following vegetables from pest attacks:-

• Brassicas – Cabbage, Kale, Broccoli,
• Curbits – Cucumbers, melons,
• Beans – runner, french, climbing,
• Tomato’s, Peppers,
• Apple Trees and Strawberries.

5. Nasturtium leaves and flowers are edible.

Nasturtium means ‘nose-twister’ which refers to the bitter peppery taste when eaten.

To recycle the plant, any leaf or flower unaffected by pests can be eaten with salads or added to soups, butter, oils, vinegar etc. See this great link at Squidoo for Cooking With Nasturtiums or view the video below on how to make Nasturtium Butter.

Finally talking of recycling, why not try saving your own Nasturtium Seed for next year’s pest control. Here’s how you do it:

1. Wait until the flowers have died off, then behind the flower is a cluster of 3 green seeds.
2. If the seeds are green and attached to the stem still they are too ‘green’ to collect, leave them to dry and fall to the soil,
3. Look under the leaves on the soil for brown round seeds which look like cherry pips.
4. Put these dry seeds in a paper bag and save in a cool place until sowing,
5. Sowing Period is March to July.

For more information, please view the following links:

• Summer Pests to Look Out for on Your Vegetable Plot
• Cabbage White Caterpillars
• 10 Reasons To Start Growing Organic Vegetables in Your Garden
• Flowering Vegetables To Brighten Up Your Back Garden
• Top 10 Tips to Keep Your Vegetables Happy on Sunny Days

Inevitably as a vegetable grower you will come across at least one pest or disease in a growing year, the trick is to arm yourself with the knowledge of how to prevent, divert or get rid of pests when they arrive, so your vegetables continue growing without too much interruption.

In this summer series of posts, I will explore the most common pests and diseases to attack vegetables in our plots, symptoms and organic methods I’ve used over the years.

Pests and diseases are more likely so strike in the summer months as this is when most of the pest lifecycles are at the adult stages and when they are on the hunt for food or to lay their eggs. Here’s two pests you’ll want to avoid this summer.

1. Aphids

Blackfly on Leaf

Otherwise known as blackfly or greenfly. Blackfly are especially troublesome once they get hold of a plant by congregating near the top around the bud, fruit or leaves tip.

Symptoms of Aphids: Curling leaves, black marks called soot appear around the flower head and stem, lots of ants running up and down the plant.

Vegetables that can be attacked by Aphids: Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Strawberries, French Beans, Runner Beans, Squashes and any vegetables with green thin leaves.

Tried and Tested Organic Control Methods: I tend to plant nasturtiums next to or near the plant you don’t want pests on as aphids like the large flat leaves to live under. I also use a hosepipe to wash off the aphids. This method I’m using at the moment on my strawberries. I’m using the squishing method to remove the black fly off my tomatoes and french beans which seems to be working.

Blackfly Cluster on Strawberry Stem

Alternative Methods:
Get rid of the ants by using Vinegar, buying ladybirds or trying to introduce them into your garden with ‘bug’ houses, rub the aphids with your fingers to kill them, plant flowers nearby to bring in hoverflies that like eating aphids or try spraying very very diluted washing up liquid on the affected area.

Need More Info?

• Whitefly Organic Solution
• Ants on Broad Beans
• Blackfly on Broad Beans
• Greenfly on Lettuce

2. Cabbage White Butterfly

Cabbage White Butterfly

If you are growing cabbages which aren’t covered with netting, you may be unwittingly attracting the cabbage white butterfly to lay bright yellow eggs on the underside of your cabbage leaves. These eggs will soon hatch into caterpillars which will devastate your brassica crop.

Symptoms of Caterpillars: Chewed and leaves with holes in them, some leaves will be eaten down the the leaf veins, tiny green or brown curled caterpillars under the soil of your cabbages, stunned growth, leaves turning brown or yellow and dropping off, brown and grey deposits on the leaves from eating caterpillars.

Vegetables Affected by Caterpillars: Any member of the brassica family like cabbages, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, kale.

Tried and Tested Organic Control Methods: I cover my cabbages all year round with an enviromesh cloche, although take care not to let butterflies into your plot when weeding or mulching as they become trapped to lay all the eggs they want! This year I have also grown nasturtiums in pots on my decking and already this has been a diversionary tactic as I’ve seen the butterflies over them.

Cabbage White Caterpillar Eggs

Alternative Methods: It is better to find the eggs under the leaves and remove them before they get to the caterpillar stage so check regularly under the leaves, picking off caterpillars by hand or trowel, watering them off the leaves with a hose and then removing them, Avoid planting colourful flowers next to a cabbage plot as this encourages the butterflies, birds eat caterpillars so try to encourage them to eat the free food!

Need More Info?

• Spot The Caterpillars
• Hordes of Caterpillars
• Cabbage White Caterpillars

To keep up to date with the latest Summer Pests and Diseases information, why not signup to my Monthly Newsletter.

Theres still plenty to be sowing in June and July to make sure you grab a harvest this summer and autumn. See my other posts Vegetables To Sow in June and Vegetables To Sow in July for more details of vegetables to grow at this time of the year.

I’ve now made my final sowings of Kohl Rabi, Broccoli and Kale, find out more about them below, as this is your last chance to sow them in June or early July.

Kohl Rabi -The German Cabbage Turnip

Kohl Rabi White

It is a very easy to grow vegetable but it very unusual looking. It is widely grown in eastern europe and apparently it tastes like a cross between broccoli, cabbage and turnip and its swollen stem forms above the ground. It likes full sun and fertile organic rich soil with drainage but will grow anywhere.

Last Chance to Sow – Kohl Rabi:
Sow: April to Mid July
Harvest: 10 – 12 weeks later.
Variety I’m Growing: Kohl Rabi ‘Superschmelz’

Kale – Strong, Resistant to Weather and Leaves for Winter

Black Kale

I’m looking forward to growing Kale ‘Nero di Toscano’ which is also known as black kale as it can reach up to 18 inches high and resembles a palm tree like appearance. This should bring a bit of height into my plot late in the season and I will have something to harvest in the winter.

I’ve been reading the blog ‘In My Kitchen Garden’ about a passionate Nero di Toscano grower who encouragingly says that it can’t be killed and survives hot sun, drought and cold snaps.

Last Chance to Sow – Kale:
Sow: March to June
Harvest: September to March
Variety I’m Growing: Kale ‘Nero di Toscano’
How Do I Grow? Growing Kale

Sprouting Broccoli – Early, Hardy, Harvest in 4-5 months

Broccoli Spears

After looking at my post last year ‘4 Alternative Vegetables to Grow in August’ and doing a bit more digging about quick sprouting broccoli types, I found the variety ‘Spike’ from The Organic Gardening Catalogue.

This annual sprouting variety is very quick growing with spears or heads ready to harvest in 4 – 5 months which is about August or September.

Last Chance to Sow – Broccoli ‘Spike’:
Sow: April to June
Harvest: August to September
Variety I’m Growing: Broccoli ‘Spike’

Top up your sowings of lettuce and carrots to continue your harvest through summer to autumn.

Inspirational Lettuces – Fiery Red and Cool Mint Crisp

Lettuce

Fancy a change with your salad? Why not try some of the new varieties of cool, fiery and unusual coloured lettuces. There are a wide range of lettuce alternatives at The Real Seeds Catalogue.

To name a few which look interesting Carmona – a bright red and lime green butterhead lettuce currently on Special offer, Devil’s Tongue Romaine – large upright lettuce with big long leaves in purple/red colour, Australian Yellowleaf – very bright acid yellow/green frilly leaves and there’s plenty more to choose from.

Sow Now – Lettuces:
Sow: April to July
Harvest: May to September
Varieties I’m Growing: Lettuce ‘Red Flame’ and ‘Mint Crisp’
How Do I Grow? Growing Lettuce

Carrots – Its Time to Sow Late Maincrop or Autumn Varieties

More Carrots Harvested

If your carrot crop hasn’t been the best this year, why not try sowing now and in July to get your main crop varieties off to a great start. Why not try some of the Maincrop varieties at The Organic Gardening Catalogue, Autumn King is always a popular variety.

Sow Now – Carrots:
Sow: April to July
Harvest: May to September
Varieties I’m Growing: Carrot ‘Flakee’ and ‘White Kuttiger.’
How Do I Grow? Growing Carrots

Don’t miss what to sow now and next – Signup to my iGrowVeg Monthly Newsletter.
See the latest issue here.

I’ve only ever grown autumn sowing broad beans until now and I’ve discovered that I can extend my broad bean harvesting period over several more weeks following on from my autumn sown crop.

Autumn Sowing Broad Beans
These types of broad beans like Super Aquadulce and The Sutton can be sown in October or November under cloches outdoors, so they can establish themselves for a June harvest.

Extend the Season with Spring Sowing Broad Beans
Spring sowing broad beans can be sown between February and April (under cloches until they flower) for a July and August harvest. There are many different varieties available and if timed right they can extend your cropping season for another month at least.

Spring sowing broad beans catch up very quickly with their autumn sowing cousins as the ground is warm and the sunny season is well full swing. In comparison Spring sowings take 4 months to produce broad beans and Autumn sowings take 8 months to harvest.

Broad Bean Pods on Plant

My Experience in extending the broad bean cropping season

I sowed Aquadulce Claudia in October, they flowered in May and I am harvesting them now in late June with enough pods still growing to last another few weeks. Autumn sowing plants tend to be taller as they have been in the ground for longer.

I sowed Crimson Flowered Broad Beans in April, they flowered June and are only just forming beans in late June, they will be ready to harvest in July.

How much space do you need to grow broad beans to get a good crop?

I have grown 4 x 4ft long rows of Aquadulce Claudia and this is producing enough for 2 people for 3 weeks with more pods growing every day. I only grew 1 x 4ft row of Crimson Flowered Broad Bean.

Closeup of Deep Pink to Red Broad Bean Flowers

More Broad Bean Posts you may be interested in:

• From First Flowers to First Beans
• Black Fly or Black Bean Aphid on Broad Beans
• Frost Bitten Broad Beans
• Ants on Broad Beans
• Discover Broad Beans
• Broad Bean Variety – Aquadulce Claudia
• Broad Bean Variety – Crimson Flowered