I have written a lot about broad beans. This has a predictable rhythm: you can sow them now, they are easy and the results are delicious. Plenty of vegetables and flowers provoke a sense of ennui when I have to write about them again. And again. But broad beans never fail to delight me. I love everything about them. I do not think, “Everyone must know how easy they are by now.” I just feel a sense of joy that I get to do it again.
So I will not apologise for writing this again: sow them in modules and pots to plant out in a month or so; sow them direct into the soil if it’s pliable; put fleece on top, if necessary, or netting if there are small creatures hungry for fat, protein-filled seeds.
Sow beans 5cm to 7cm deep, 20cm apart in blocks; if you’re growing lines, leave at least 45cm between them. Too close together, and chocolate spot will turn them blotchy. Broad beans work just as well in big containers. You can sow now until the end of March, but sow outside only if it’s warm enough to work with bare hands. If your fingers freeze immediately in the soil, so will the beans.
Sow whichever variety takes your fancy, but for a balcony choose ‘The Sutton’, because it’s the sturdiest in wind. ‘Bunyard’s Exhibition’ is one of the earliest and tastiest, but at 1.3m, it must be staked. ‘Red Epicure’, with its beautifully scented flowers and beans blushed a gentle red, is good for a mixed flower/veg garden, as is its Italian counterpart, ‘Grano Violetto’. ‘Masterpiece Green Longpod’ is just that for the freezer. ‘Aquadulce Claudia’ is a reliable standard, notably for cold spots. ‘Wizard’, a tough fava bean type, is perfect for falafel.
Then just wait for your reward of eating them raw from the pod when they’re so young that their skins are thin. More extravagantly, when the pods are no thicker than a little finger, steam them whole and douse in the best olive oil. Don’t forget the top shoots, either: eat those with pasta and pecorino.
When the beans are all gone, cut the plants down to a couple of inches and, if you are lucky, they’ll sprout again and you’ll have more beans in autumn. Even if you’re not lucky, your soil will be, because the root nodules will dissolve into the soil, releasing nitrogen for any plants nearby and making sure the soil is inoculated with the bacteria needed for more nodules next year.
