Broad beans are the first of the legumes to mature in the year, and with successional spring sowings you can have broad beans from June into September.
There's nothing quite like the flavour of the first harvested beans, lightly steamed and eaten with a little butter and black pepper.
In mild areas of the country on sheltered sites you can sow certain cultivars - such as 'The Sutton' and 'Super Aquadulce' - in the autumn for a really early crop. During particularly cold weather it pays to cover the plants with cloches or other forms of protection.
The main sowing period is March and April. Sow in February under cloches for an earlier crop; sow in May to extend the crop throughout the summer months and into autumn.
Sow 5cm (2in) deep and 20cm (8in) apart; dwarf varieties like 'The Sutton' can be sown 15cm (6in) apart. They are best sown in double rows, with the rows 20cm (8in) apart. If a second double row is needed this should be positioned 60cm (2ft) away from the first.
Sow a few extra seeds at the end of the rows to fill in any gaps produced by seeds that don’t germinate.
Taller varieties will need supporting, so place a stout stake at each corner of the double row and run string around the stakes at 30cm (1ft) intervals from the ground.
Broad beans can be attacked by aphids. One way to reduce the damage - and produce an earlier crop - is to pinch out the top 7.5cm (3in) of the stems when the first pods start to form. Don't throw these tops away as they can be lightly steamed and eaten.
You can pick pods when they are 7.5cm (3in) long and cook them whole.
But when picking pods to shell wait until the beans start to be visible through the pod, but don't leave them too long - the scar on the bean should still be white or green - not black, as the beans will become tougher at this stage.
