broad beans

[Tora]

I've only tried Aquadulce and Bunyards Exhibition but Aquadulce sown in early spring suffered from blackflies badly. I couldn't get a decent crop. Bunyards sown a bit later didn't suffer from blackflies and gave me a good crop. I think the performance depends largely on when you sow them.
I'm going to sow Sutton and Aquadulce this autumn to overwinter. :)

[Tora]

[Robert_Brenchley]

My aquadulce produced a reasonable crop, but I just looked over my crimson-flowered beans, and there are very few pods coming. The few are mostly near the bottom of the flowering stem. I put this down to the awful weather, which hasn't really given pollinators much of a chance.

[valmarg]

Every broadbean plant on the site was cut down by rust this year.  Chaps who have been working plots for donkeys years have never suffered with it before but this year it got all of us.  Lance

I'm being a bit pedantic here, but what usually affects broad beans is not rust, but chocolate spot.  A fungal infection by any name would be just as welcome!!

We have been plagued with chocolate spot this year, but it has not affected the beans in the pods.

valmarg

[debster]

I think i might have been affected by chocolate spot however i used the exact same packet last time and although they were not affected by the infection the crop was still as poor. i wont give up though because the ones i did manage to get were lovely just will try an alternative type though cant find the old packet to ensure i dont get the same ones

[valmarg]

debster, I shouldn't worry about the seeds.  Chocolate spot is an airborne fungal infection, and this year's weather has been just about perfect for it to thrive.

We did have a good crop of broad beans from our first sowing.  The flowers on the lower parts of the plants set well.  Further up the plants, when the heavens opened, the flowers were absolutely sodden so the bees could not get in to pollinate.

valmarg

[Trevor_D]

We've all had very bad chocolate spot this year. I don't pretend to be an expert on pests & diseases, but it must be the weather, mustn't it?

But it didn't really affect the crop (until the last knockings, when I was gathering them for seed anyway). We've had a pretty good year for broad beans. (Unlike other crops I could mention....)

They do need plenty of muck dug in, of course; and they do best in an open environment - I get far better results at the allotment than I ever did in the garden.