The Crafty Cultivator

 I planted out the ‘Windsor’ broad beans on May 8.

It snowed on May 11.

The beans are fine…

Broad beans are not my most favourite bean. But as a plant, they are very welcome in my garden. Their nitrogen fixing nodules on their roots will help my soil. Their early flowers will make the bees happy. The early harvest of something from the garden is also a welcome inspiration to keep working in the garden. Plus, I really like sowing the giant seeds. They (along with runner beans) have a magic bean feel to them… Always good for your inner child.

I also planted some Fava bean seeds at the same time. The broad beans are around 6 inches tall, but only 2 of the Fava’s are starting to germinate now. I think I’ll stick to the broad beans from here on out.

OKAY… I realize that Broad Beans and Fava beans are really the same thing, and mostly differentiated by UK and US English… BUT, from the same seed company, I have Fava bean seeds and I have Broad Bean seeds, which is why I make the distinction between them here. The Fava’s that I planted are probably better for warmer climates like the Southern States, where as the Broad Beans originating from England are more adapted to our colder temperatures and number of daylight hours.

If you are interested, I wrote some updates with pictures about some of my Broad Beans last year(2014) Here on June 13, and Here on June 28. I also made a quick video on my youtube channel of the ants that patrolled them.