Broad beans not setting

[colincParticipant]

Hi Charles, you no I put broad bean seeds in pollytunnel last november, plants look fantastic, ive never had such good plants, pinched tops out at four and a half feet, have been and stil are covered in flowers, I keep the door open all day, never had a frost for over a month, plants are watered regualy but not over watered, have bees and other insects coming in all the time, problem not one of the flowers is setting a pod, ive never seen this before, have you any ideas why this is happening, so disapointing,                                                                                                                                                  Colin C 

[peatParticipant]

Mine haven’t set yet either.  It’s still a bit early so I’m not worried.

 

[charlesModerator]

I don’t know Colin. Mine outdoors are full of flower and its the same, no beans to see yet, but April 25th is still so early I am not worrying. I have a feeling they will grow beans soon. Steph has picked peas on tunnel plants sown in November, but I think broad beans just take a bit longer.

[jjat8cvParticipant]

I grew The Sutton broad bean in a small polytunnel over winter. One of the plants (obviously a rogue seed) has grown to over five feet tall and still growing. This plant already has about a dozen small beans on it but there is nothing on the others. I  have also picked Douce Provence peas sown in November and very nice they were too. A product of the mild winter presumably.

[RhysParticipant]

Seems to be a common theme!

[jjat8cvParticipant]

Checked my outside broad beans today and have small beans on three out of four varieties sown last winter.

[RhysParticipant]

Not all yet, but the ones most exposed to most sun.

[RhysParticipant]

Not all yet, but the ones most exposed to most sun.

[DaucusMember]

Hi jjat8cv – are you considering saving any of the seed from your rogue broad bean plant? If so, would you consider sending some to me, I would love to sow some. Would obviously pay for them & postage etc!

[charlesModerator]

All good now and I hope they are in Scotland Colin

[RhysParticipant]

Just did a bit of counting on a few plants at either end of the double row and plants have 20 – 30 pods set and growing – far more than normal.

Whether it was the two doses of nettle tea I gave them, who knows, but it certainly didn’t do them any harm.

[englishladyMember]

Congrats rtj, that is brilliant.  I didn’t know that nettle tea could even be made.  I know they are nutritious and obviously your beans adore it !

Superb !

Best wishes

Julie

[jjat8cvParticipant]

The said plant is now about 8 ft tall. I am not sure if it will grow any more as the stem has a kink where it reached the top of the tunnel and started growing over to the other side. It seems to have the habit of “the sutton” in that it has beans growing very close together on the stem but they are up to 10 inches long. I will be saving some seed but unfortunately I have already promised seed to others. Perhaps next year if it comes true I can let you have some. There is a picture on the letters page of Amateur Gardening this week but the photograph was taken back in April and it was nowhere near as tall as it is now.

[DaucusMember]

Thanks for replying, I’m just glad someone somewhere is getting the seed! Congratulations on your find.

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