THE COMMON OR BROAD BEAN 



In English gardens, years ago, 

 it was the practice to sow Broad 

 Beans in October, November, and 

 December for the earliest crops, but 

 this is now seldom done ; the plants 

 are generally raised in pots, boxes, 

 or frames, and afterwards trans- 

 planted to the open ground. This 

 is undoubtedly the best plan, as the 

 ground that would otherwise be 

 occupied by the seed can be ridged 

 or roughly dug, and exposed to the 

 weather to get pulverised and freed 

 from slugs, etc. By adopting the 

 method of transplantation, fuller 

 and more even rows can also be 

 ensured. The first sowing should 

 be made early in January in a frame 

 or pit from which frost is excluded, 

 or a sowing may be made in heat in 

 February, and gradually hardened 

 off after the plants are up. The 

 plants should be grown stout and 

 strong, and be in readiness for turn- 

 ing out early in March, provided the 

 weather is favourable. A south 

 border, under a wall or hedge, 

 should be chosen for them if possible, 

 and after planting, if planks or thin 

 boards can be placed edgeways on 

 each side of the rows, to protect 

 them from cold winds, all the better. 

 The rows should be planted from 

 2 to 2 1 ft. apart, and the plants in 

 the rows should be 4 or 5 in. apart. 

 This will be found to be room 

 enough for early crops if dwarf 

 varieties be grown. If the weather 

 be favourable throughout the spring, 

 the crop will be fit for use by the 

 middle of June, which is as early as 

 Broad Beans are generally expected 

 to be fit for use. Successional sow- 

 ings may be made in the open ground 

 in January and February, and the 

 principal sowings should be in March 

 and April. If late crops be required, 

 small sowings may be made as late 

 as July ; this is, however, seldom 

 done. In order to obtain late crops 



some growers, after gathering the 

 produce from the main or summer 

 crops, cut down the plants to within 

 a few inches of the ground, then 

 give them a good watering, and in 

 a few days they throw out young 

 shoots, which eventually furnish a 

 fair crop of late beans, though, of 

 course, not so fine as the previous 

 crop. Others sacrifice part of the 

 summer crops, and cut down the 

 plants just as they are coming into 

 bloom ; the produce from these is, 

 of course, finer than that from plants 

 that have previously borne a crop. 

 Either of these ways is, however, 

 preferable to sowing for late crops, 

 inasmuch as the plants are hardier, 

 and, being well rooted, stand the 

 dry weather late in the summer and 

 the cold in the autumn. By this 

 method beans of fair quality may 

 be had up till late in November, 

 unless the weather be unusually 

 severe. 



Sowings for successional and main 

 crops may be made on open quarters, 

 or between rows of Spinach or any 

 other crop that will be cleared 

 before the beans get very high ; 

 the former, however, is best when 

 ground can be spared. The seed 

 should be sown in rows from 2k to 

 3 ft. apart, the beans being placed 

 about 4 or 5 in. apart, and they 

 may either be put in with a blunt 

 dibble, or drills may be drawn for 

 them 2 or 3 in. deep. Previous to 

 sowing main crops, the seed should 

 be soaked in water for a few hours 

 to accelerate vegetation. Earthing- 

 up the young plants is advisable for 

 early crops, for it affords a slight 

 protection to the plants during cold, 

 windy weather ; for other crops it is 

 not needed. When the plants show 

 sufficient bloom to produce a good 

 crop, their tops may be picked out 

 in order to enhance the setting of 

 the blooms and development of the 



