In the last few weeks my broad beans have gone from strength to strength. Not so long ago I separated them into their own pots and no less than a month later I’ve decided to the plant them out. They’ve reached about 30cm in height and they’re drying out relatively quickly, which is a sure sign that they are due to be planted outside.
My old grandad used to say, “Don’t cast a clout until May is out!” which mean not to plant anything outside because you still have a risk of frost – well, I’ve decided to take a chance, with planting these beans outside.
I have 16 plants in total and I plant to plant them in a bed with french beans (that I’m yet to sow), and some herbs.
Broad beans tend to like a little bit of support, so I’ve planted each of them with a bamboo cane, creating a bit of a rudimentary cage by the end. Broad beans are prone to a number of pests and diseases including black fly, aphids and weevils. They’re also prone to attack from pigeons if there’s nothing else available too!
Much like the strawberries I planted outside earlier this month, I’ve dug a hole big enough to cater for the majority of the rootstock and then covered well. I’ve then wrapped the whole plant structure in string to try and deter the birds from eating the leaves of the plants.
I’ll keep you updated in about a weeks time on how things are going with the broad beans – my biggest fear is that they get decimated by the frost or they’ve been eaten by the birds. When the temperature rises I’ll look to empty the compost bin and lay down a mulch on the bed so that the ground will hold more water than usual.
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