Topic: How Do You tell When Broad Beans Are Ripe Enough?

[Curryandchips]

I like them young too, I just feel the pods for the presence of beans - a bulge - as already mentioned. This time of year it is almost impossible to keep them young, so the more mature ones will end up as broad bean humus - plenty of recipes on google. Chaps at work are amazed at how good it is.

This year is possibly my best year ever for broad beans, a bitter pill for my neighbour since they are his seed heehee. The freezer already has a carrier bag full of shelled beans, and I reckon I will harvest perhaps 5 litres of humus from the remaining pods ... plus seed for next year of course. The humus freezes, so no waste.

I shell them on the plot, so have got pretty nifty with my left thumb, but will consider the potato peeler idea ...

[GrannieAnnie]

So is black fly and insect or a disease?

We've never grown broad beans or even eaten them, but you make this red variety sound so yummy and interesting it will be on next years list to grow. Which is the problem with hanging around with you guys!! :-\