PlantSowGrow
How to grow Broad Bean (Aquadulce Claudia)
Vicia faba
The hardiest broad bean: sow in autumn for the earliest beans of the year, or in early spring.
At a glance: Sow early March to early April, harvest from late May.
When to sow, plant and harvest
Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.
Growing Broad Bean (Aquadulce Claudia): what it needs
- Light
- Full sun · 6+ hours a day
- Watering
- Water regularly in dry weather
- Soil
- Fertile, well-drained soil
- Spacing
- 20 cm, double rows
- In pots
- Grows well in containers
- Feeding
- A general feed before sowing or planting
- Harvest
- About 100 days from sowing
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 3–9
- Difficulty
- Easy
Step by step
- Early March – early April · 6 weeks before the last spring frost
Sow Seeds Outdoors
Sow thinly in drills where they are to grow. Sow 5 cm deep.
Or: Sow Outdoors (Autumn) (Mid September – early November · 4 weeks before the first autumn frost)
- 10–21 days after “Sow Seeds Indoors” · Mid March – late March
Check Germination
Seedlings should appear in 10–21 days. If sown outdoors, thin to 20 cm, double rows apart when big enough to handle.
- 7–21 days after “Plant Out” · Mid March – early April
Add Support
Put stakes at the row ends with string around them to hold the plants up.
- 30–45 days after “Add Support” · Mid April – early May
Pinch Out Tops
When the first pods set, pinch out the top 8 cm of each plant — it deters blackfly and speeds up cropping.
- 79–100 days after “Check Germination” · Late May – mid June
Start Harvesting
Pick when beans show through the pod but before the scar on each bean turns black.
- 30–60 days after “Start Harvesting” · Late June – late July
Finish and Clear
Clear the remains to the compost heap once cropping ends.
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