BEANS? They get my vote!
The pharaohs offered jars of them to the gods and the Romans even used them as counters in senate elections…
BROAD beans are often prefixed with the word ‘humble’ in food magazines but these small, oval-shaped legumes are actually quite extraordinary. Thought to have originated in the Mediterranean basin – although botanists have never found any in the wild – this veg has a fascinating history that stretches back many millennia.
In 2015, carbon-dating of seeds found at an archaeological dig in Israel revealed that Neolithic farmers cultivated broad beans more than 10,000 years ago. Also known as fava beans, they went on to play a starring role in the diet of the ancient Greeks, Romans and Egyptians, along with the Persian civilisation.
People in bygone times didn’t just eat the things. The Romans held them in such high regard that seeds were used to cast votes in the senate – a white one meant yes, black was no. Ramesses III, pharaoh from 1186 to 1155 BC, offered 11,998 jars of broad beans to the gods of the river Nile.
Broad beans arrived in Britain during the Iron Age and were the most popular type on our shores until runners arrived from the New World during the 15th Century.
APART from having a fascinating past, broad beans are darned tasty. Young beans with the outer skin removed are sweet and tender, with a nutty flavour – add them to salads, stews and curries or blitz into dips.
As a bonus, they are stuffed full of protein, carbohydrates, fibre and vitamins.
Seeds are often sown in spring but canny gardeners start them in autumn. Seeds will germinate quickly in warm, damp soil and develop into 1in-tall plants before winter. They’ll romp away when temperatures rise in spring, providing pickings much earlier than those sown in March or April.
The advantage to sowing in October or November is that plants tend to avoid black fly aphids. These sap-suckers don’t really go for the woody growth of older plants but are drawn towards the sappy shoots of spring-sown plants, leading to stunted growth and poor pod formation.
A quick word of warning before I carry on: sowing at this time of year is perfect for those with light soil, a sheltered garden and who live in a mild part of the country.
Anyone with heavy clay soil that stays soggy all winter, or who has a garden situated in a particularly cold area, should delay until spring. And not all varieties are suitable for sowing in autumn, so pick those capable of enduring chilly weather, such as ‘The Sutton’. Perfect for exposed sites, plants grow up to 12in tall and produce loads of 5in-long pods holding five or six plump beans.
Seeds will germinate readily in light, stone-free soil in a sunny spot. Fork over, remove weeds and stones, and then rake until the texture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Make a 2in-deep trench and sow seeds 9in apart, leaving a gap of 2ft between rows. Cover with soil and water well.
Keep plants well watered, especially during dry spells, and cover with sheets of horticultural fleece if harsh frosts are forecast. Prevent taller varieties (anything that grows over 18in) from flopping by making a simple cage out of canes and string. Shore up shorter ones with lengths of brushwood.