Focus on… Broad beans
WITH autumn-sown varieties ready now, and even some varieties started this week cropping come September, there’s more to the humble broad bean than you think.
The best beans for you
If you’re like me, you’ll be eyeing up a bed of autumn-sown ‘Aquadulce Claudia’ – the benchmark for autumn sowing. It’s super-hardy, so it will get through all but the very wettest winters (waterlogging and sub-zero temperatures can cause rotting), especially on free-draining soils.
There are four main types of broad bean: Seville (autumn-sown types); longpod (such as ‘Exhibition Longpod’, with seven or so seeds per pod); Windsors (such as ‘Green Windsor’, the standard spring-sowing types); and fan-podded (such as ‘The Sutton’, with multiple pods on compact plants).
“Tiny and tender gives the best-quality beans”
Seed colour varies: green-seeded varieties like ‘Imperial Green Longpod’ are, by some (not me) claimed to be
