Broad Beans nearly ready for planting

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I sowed my first Broad Beans seeds of 2019 on 17th February. A month later, the first ones are nearly ready for planting out.

I normally grow about 20 Broad Bean plants. It’s a quantity that fits neatly into one of my raised beds. However, I always sow more than 20 seeds, because one or two may fail to germinate and one or two may get damaged while still young. This year I have sowed 32 seeds. As you can see from the next photo I sowed them in 5-inch pots, in batches of 8.

The two trays furthest from the camera in that photo are “Witkiem Manita”. They were kept in the garage until germination, protected from mice by clear plastic covers. Because of the extra warmth, these were the first to germinate (after 11 days), though one is so far still a “No Show”.

On the same day I sowed 8 ” De Monica” in a tray that went into my big wooden coldframe. They germinated a few days later.

Finally, the fourth tray was sown with what I think are “Imperial Green Longpod”. They were seeds from the mixed bag I bought last year at the Whitchurch Potato Day, so I’m not 100% sure. The first one or two of these are only just breaking the surface of their soil.

For the time being, I am holding off planting out any of these beans because it is still mighty chilly, especially at night-time, and we are experiencing some very violent winds. During the day I put the trays outside on my garden table, gradually accustoming them to an outdoor existence, but putting them back in the coldframe overnight. Maybe next week…?

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