how to grow a bean feast

• Sow in cooling temperatures (late April/May).

• Plant in light, well-composted soil. Add lime if your soil is acidic; pH should be about 6.5.

• Plant in single rows about 60cm apart, in damp soil in a 4cm deep furrow.

• Organic fertiliser should be placed in a separate, deeper furrow on either side; direct contact could burn the bean seed.

• Nip out the growing tips when the plants are in full flower and the first seed has begun to set. This will produce larger pods, improve bearing and will also discourage aphids.

• Pods can be picked from 5cm upwards. Pick from the bottom of the stem.

• The best broad bean flavour is from the shelled beans of more mature pods. The beans should look well rounded inside the pod, but the pod itself should still be soft.

• At the end of the season, cut stems down for your compost heap and dig roots into soil; like all legumes, the plants have their own nitrogenfixing system and are packed with nutrients.