Fee fi fo fum
Beware the ides of March. So said the soothsayer to Julius Caesar. But did he listen? No. And look what happened to him 2,053 years ago today.
I was planning to sow my broad beans today before I realised it was the 15th of March. Would Shakespeare’s soothsayer caution against it? What could possibly happen? The only danger I can think of is if the beanstalks sprout overnight, get out of hand and start to scratch the clouds. Even then, I’m only in trouble if I climb up there and decide to rob a giant. Jack was an idiot.
No, I think I should be fine. Broad beans are one of the easiest crops to grow. They do well in the cold. They do well in the heavy Glaswegian soil. They do well.
You could almost get away with throwing them out your window and watch them do their thing, but then fairytales are maybe not the best guide on how to grow vegetables.
Broad beans aren’t fussy about the soil. Although a bit of compost mixed into the ground would be a good idea to give them a bit of an incentive. Make a hole about half the depth of your finger and space them a generous hand span’s width apart (or the width of one and a half hand span if you have small hands, but this is no science).
By the end of June, I should be picking lots of the plump pods for the kitchen. Broad beans are good-natured in the garden, but I think they are maybe even more so in the kitchen. They seem to get on particularly well with pork, either in a pasta dish with pancetta, or a sausage risotto or a broad bean puree to go with pork chops. Or on their own; lightly coated with some olive oil, tossed with a crushed clove of garlic and served with freshly grounded pepper and flakes of sea salt.
Filed under: General | 1 Comment
Tags: Broad beans, grow your own
Is it growth so easy like that ?