How to grow | broad beans

My favourite cool-weather legume

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BROAD BEANS

(Vicia faba)

Broad beans are one of those veggies that appear in supermarkets for only the briefest window of time (less than 10 weeks a year), giving them an almost mythical quality, like a rarely sighted sea monster.

A cold-weather crop, these legumes take 12 weeks to mature and are best planted in autumn or winter to harvest mid-winter or early spring (don’t wait too late to sow them; they wont make pods if the weather gets too warm).

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Cheat sheet

When to sow: autumn and early winter

Position: full sun

Sow: direct

Depth: 7cm

Spacing: 15-30cm

Plants per person: 4-8

Time to harvest: 12 weeks

Grow in pots: 40cm deep, or deeper

Companion plants: carrot, lettuce, marigolds, celery, shelling peas, potatoes, parsnips, cabbage, parsley

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How to grow