IRISH GARDENING. 



^9 



Broad Beans. 



By WILLIAM JOHNSTON, Horticultural Instructor, 

 Longford. 



Broad Bean is an 

 annual plant, is easily 

 grown, yields a large 

 supply of food if pro- 

 perly treated, and, 

 ^IL^B ^S^^ KM besides, is one of the 

 ^9^^^^bJ^^^ Ja the most nutritious 



vegetables for the 

 cottager to grow. 

 Unfortunately, I find, 

 the cottager seldom 

 grows this vegetable, 

 being content to plant 

 his garden with field 

 cabbages and some 

 potatoes ; but those 

 who grow it either 

 fail in its cultivation or else use inferior varieties 

 which not only prove nearly fruitless, but what- 

 ever comes to perfection is of little food value. 

 Another great mistake made by cottagers and 

 even small farmers is to procure the seeds from 

 some local merchant regardless of age, quality 

 or even the variety they are purchasing. They 

 sow these seeds, and when failure befals them, 

 instead of blaming themselves as to their own ig- 

 norance in purchasing bad seeds, they exclaim — 

 " Beans are an unprofitable crop to grow ? " This 

 remark as to the purchase of seeds holds good 

 for the other species of vegetables as well as to 

 beans. I would strongly advise those people to 

 purchase only fresh, new seeds of good varieties 

 from a reliable firm ; and if they would read the 

 following remarks on the cultivation of broad 

 beans and put them into practice they would 

 reap a larger produce from the same ground, 

 besides having beans of better table quality 

 than what they had formerly grown. 



Soil Best Sliited. — Broad beans require a strong-, 

 deep, well-drained, loamy soil, but they will grow in any 

 ordinar}' garden soil which has been deeply cultivated. 

 Soils of a shallow nature are unsuitable for this crop, as 

 the beans send out long, tapering roots downwards to 

 a good depth. Light, sandy soil can be improved by 

 treading it firmly while dry before sowing the seed. 



Maniring. — A liberal dressing of stable manure 

 applied while trenching the ground will be of greatbenefit 

 to heavy clay soils, but it is a mistake to make the soil 

 too rich at the time of sowing the seed, as this tends to 

 produce too luxuriant growth of stems and leaves to the 

 detriment of pods. It is advisable to grow this crop on 

 land that has been previously well manured. 



Sowing. — A sowing of beans can be made in open 

 weather in the beginning of February, as soon as the 

 soil is in workable condition. Open drills or ruts about 

 three inches deep and from two to three feet apart, 

 according to the variety sown ; plant the beans zig-zag 

 in the drills about four inches asunder, and return the 



soil removed so as to form a drill over the seed. Succes- 

 sive sowings can be made onwards at intervals till the 

 middle of May. It is still a better plan to place the rows 

 rather ^vider apart and to intercrop the spaces between 

 them with lettuce, spinach, &c. In dry weather soak 

 the seed for a day before planting, so as to hasten ger- 

 mination. 



After Treatment. — When the young bean plants are 

 about three or four inches above the ground they should 

 have a little earth drawn up to them on either side of 

 the rows. This is of great advantage to those sown on 

 the level ground, as it induces the plants to send out 

 fresh roots. Hoe regularly between the rows to keep 

 down weeds and so conserve the soil moisture for the 

 the growing crop. Beans having a desire for plenty 

 of moisture during their growth, a mulching of short 

 dung, from two to three inches thick, extending about 

 nine inches on each side of the rows, applied during hot 

 weather in summer, will have a four-fold effect to the 

 crop, namely — («) by preventing evaporation it will con- 

 serve the moisture about the roots ; (6) it will help to 

 keep the temperature of the soil more equable ; (r) each 

 time water is applied the food material of the manure 

 will be washed down to the roots ; and (d) it tends to 

 keep the plants in bearing longer, yielding heavier crops, 

 and besides, better produce will be the result. When 

 the plants show sufficient blossom for the production of 

 a good crop, pinch out the tops. This checks the undue 

 growth and throws the whole strength to the develop- 

 ment of the pods. It not only tends to render the pods 

 larger and better, but it also acts as a preventative 

 against the attack of the black aphis by removing the 

 portions of the plants on which the insects feed and ruin 

 the crop. As the plants become unprofitable they should 

 be rooted out and the ground planted with some other 

 crop. 



Varieties. —As the broad bean is divided into two 

 classes — Long-podded and Windsor — I will particularise 

 a few of the very best and most profitable varieties of 

 both classes. Giant Seville Long-pod. — Earliest of the 

 long-podded varieties, the pods being long and contain- 

 ing about six beans of the best quality. Giant Wonder 

 Bean. — Large, long-podded variety, very productive 

 and of fine flavour. Mammoth Long-pod. — A strong 

 growing variety ; pods long and broad, which are 

 abundantly produced and contain from six to seven beans 

 in a pod. Mammoth Green Long-pod. — Largest and 

 most prolific green-seeded variety grown, the pods 

 being of a rich, deep green ; excellent in flavour. 

 Leviathan. — A wonderfully robust-growing variety; an 

 immense cropper, pods frequently reaching a length of 

 i6 ins. under good cultivation, and flavour good. 

 Improved Broad Windsor. — A great improvement on the 

 old Windsor, pods being larger and broader ; of a 

 dark green colour, and are produced in great abund- 

 ance ; of excellent flavour. Green Windsor. — Large ; 

 sturdy in growth ; yields a large supply of pods ; flavour 

 good. 



Note on the Preparation of Broad Beans for Table. 



It may be useful to add a note on this subject. 

 Broad beans if cooked and served properly furnish 

 such a highly nutritious food that it is really a pity 

 that they are not universally used by all people who 

 have the means of growing them. 



Broad Beans Boiled. — Shell the beans and put them 

 on to boil in boiling water to which salt has been added 

 in the proportion of a tablespoonful to every two quarts 

 of water. Time required for boiling, about twenty 

 minutes. Serve in a hot vegetable dish with parsley 

 and butter sauce, or add a piece of butter about the 

 size of a walnut for a quart of beans. 



Boiled bacon or ham is a suitable accompaniment 

 with broad beans. 



