There’s not much going on in the garden at the moment, but one crop that can be sown direct now is broad beans.
Gardening guru Lynda Hallinan joined Jesse Mulligan to share some advice on growing broad beans – a crop which, like Brussel Sprouts, divides opinion.
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IMAGE: https://www.flickr.com/photos/geishaboy500/4948311667 CC2
Even in the dead of winter, broad bean seeds will germinate, she says
“Wherever you live in New Zealand you can sow them at this time of the year because they will still germinate even when the soil is frozen.”
In the south gardeners often plant in spring and have them as a crop at Christmas, while in warmer climes they are grown as a late Winter or early Spring crop
“Up here [Auckland] we tend to think of them as something you plant in winter and then you get them around September and October once the bees get back into business and start pollinating the black and white flowers.
“They're dead easy to grow, you literally just take the big giant seed and press in to the soil with your thumb, you don't even need to dig a hole down, you need to go down a couple of inches.”
Space them out about 20cms depending on the variety, Hallinan says.
They grow fairly tall, up to about a meter so some of them will need staking, she says.
“And for that reason, it's always a good idea to sow them in a block rather than a long row because that way you can put four corner stakes and then just wrap around the outside.”
Even if you despise broad beans they are a soil conditioner par excellence, she says.
“They're great for fixing nitrogen in the soil. So, they are are really good green or cover crop.”
Broad beans like all legumes - peas and beans - fix or trap nitrogen on little nodules on their roots.
“They're like a natural fertilizer for your garden. So, if you plant them at this time of the year in empty parts of the garden with soil that would be exposed to the weather, they'll stop rain runoff and also secondly fix nitrogen in the soil.”
And when they’re done in spring you can simply dig them back into the soil, she says.
“When they start flowering just chop them all up and with the spade and dig them into the ground and by doing that you add lots of organic matter to improve your soil structure.”
You can also eat the fresh young tops, she says.
“Just snip the tops off and steam them lightly and then add them to whatever you're making, stir fry anything like that or just even plain and they taste good. They taste like silver beet or spinach.”
Lynda’s favourite varieties
Super Aquadulce – “Just for its name. It sounds like a super hero and has really long pods.
Exhibition Long Pod – “Tells you everything you need to know. These are like real Grandad varieties, they grow pods up to 30 centimetres.”
Robin Hood –“If you've got a smaller garden, a nice easy name to remember, it only grows to 45 centimetres.
“You can plant those in pots and quite closely.”
Hughey – “My favourite this is a variety that was selected and bred by Dennis Hughes down in West Otago at Blue Mountain nurseries.
“It has amazing crimson flowers that's really pretty in the garden as well as being productive as a vegetable. The beans taste exactly the same as every other variety but it has these wonderful, wonderful flowers.”
