{"id":357,"date":"2011-01-21T20:14:00","date_gmt":"2011-01-21T20:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gsu.eventmedialabs.com\/?p=357"},"modified":"2015-07-20T22:15:29","modified_gmt":"2015-07-20T21:15:29","slug":"broad-beans-a-great-crop-for-beginners-hardy-with-a-good-success-rate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greensideup.ie\/broad-beans-a-great-crop-for-beginners-hardy-with-a-good-success-rate\/","title":{"rendered":"Broad beans – a great crop for beginners"},"content":{"rendered":"
We usually plant the seeds straight into the soil about 2.5 cm (1″) deep but\u00a0they can be started\u00a0off in modules in December, ready to plant out in February. It’s also a good idea to place stakes around the perimeter of the crop which will help to prevent the stems snapping in the wind (they’ll support each other).<\/p>\n
Broad beans like well-dug, previously manured soil so are an ideal crop to follow potatoes. Once they’ve all been harvested, if they’re disease free chop the stems off at soil level and compost, leaving the nitrogen fixing roots in the soil\u00a0to help the Brassica type crops (cabbages etc) that might follow them.<\/p>\n
\nThings to watch out for ……. if you plant broad beans in the Spring, one day you may wander into your garden and find that the tops of them are covered in blackfly, who adore their sweet flavour. Sometimes just spraying them hard with the hose is enough to remove them, or pinching off the tops of the plants as soon as you notice the little black aphids<\/a>.\u00a0 A garlic spray<\/a>\u00a0works wonders on them\u00a0too but will have to be repeated regularly.<\/p>\n