The broad bean is to autumn what the tomato is to spring. It’s the veggie we get unusually excited about when the leaves start to fall. As a youngster I remember the clumsy swagger of the broad bean plant alongside my itchy knitted threads. In winter I’d wander through my nonna’s garden and a forest of ‘bob’ – as she would call it – and the battle would be on to protect her greatest autumn asset. She would have to use all her powers of distraction, persuasion and the wooden spoon to keep my mittens off her ‘bob’.
Thankfully, we now have raised garden beds to make it an unfair fight with the next generation and my broad beans are more than safe. While my nonna only used the beans in the pod (double shelled, of course), whether it’s impatience or our quest for more value from the plant, we are equally committed to the beans, pod, foliage and flowers. The broad beans throw up a multitude of feasting opportunities, none of which should be ignored.
Given that my nonna was obsessed with broad beans and tomatoes, it made the rotation between seasons the smoothest of transitions. The broad bean – a nitrogen fixer – should always be planted in the soil where the tomatoes once lay. In the small-space garden, where we seldom promote permaculture practices, this is a rule we always follow.
PLANTING
Sow directly to the patch at a depth 2-3 times the diameter of the seed. Give a thorough soaking after sowing and then avoid over-watering before germination as bean seed has the propensity to rot.
WATERING
In ground: Water daily for the first 4 weeks and 2-3 times a week in the absence of rainfall thereafter.
In Pots: Water daily for the first 4 weeks, or until the weather becomes consistently cooler, and then cut back to watering every second day.
MAINTENANCE
Add compost and some blood and bone. Sow seeds directly to the path where you have previously grown nitrogen-hungry tomatoes.
After one month thin out the seedling to a spacing of 20–30cm and mulch using sugar cane to a depth of 3–5cm.
In 8 weeks the plants are tall and a bit clumsy, so will need trellising. This is also a good time to apply a dose of liquid potassium to help with flowers setting and turning into pods.
After 12 weeks pick pods when at a desirable size, being careful not to dislodge developing flowers. Harvesting frees up energy on the plant to produce more fruit. Another way to encourage better pod growth is to cut the tops of the plant to help redirect energy. These shoots are edible.
At the end of harvesting (around 20 weeks) if planting in-ground, chop up the plants and dig them through the patch. This will help fix the soil with nitrogen for the subsequent crops.
HARVESTING
Time until first harvest: 10–12 weeks
How to harvest: Pick individual pods by hand when at a desirable size, bracing the plant with your other hand and being careful not to dislodge developing flowers.
TIP
The number one crop to precede and follow tomato for its nitrogen-fixing quality. To encourage flower and pod production, cut off the growth tips which will redirect energy to the development of those delicious pods.
