Broad bean Seville Long-Pod - Vilmorin seeds

The Seville Long Pod Broad Bean is a magnificent variety that is early and prolific. It produces an abundance of pods containing 6 to 7 large white beans. Sow in October/November in mild climates and from February to March elsewhere. Harvest from April to August.

Broad beans belong to the large Fabaceae family, like beans and peas. After falling somewhat out of favour, they seem to be making a comeback in vegetable gardens. Its cultivation is easy.

Native to Asia and the Middle East, it is widely cultivated around the world, both for its flavour and its nutritional qualities. Rich in energy nutrients, it is considered a starchy food. There are many varieties of broad beans, with variations in pod size and bean colour: some are white, others are more brown.

Broad beans can be consumed both raw and cooked. However, it requires some effort, as fresh broad beans need to be shelled and then de-skinned, removing the second skin from each bean.

To enjoy them raw with a pinch of salt, like radishes, you should harvest them when they are young and tender, which eliminates the need for the second peeling. Generally, 1kg of unshelled broad beans yields 250g of peeled broad beans.

Broad beans are easy to grow, and will grow in poor, clayey, and moist soil. Like all legumes, they are not demanding and they perform best in heavy and very moist soils. They can be sown from February in most regions.

Harvest: harvesting simply involves picking the pods at different stages of ripeness, depending on how you want to consume them: raw, cooked, or dried.

Storage: fresh broad beans can be stored for a few days in the vegetable drawer of a refrigerator. You can also dry them and store them at room temperature. Broad beans also freeze very well.

Gardener's tip: black aphids love broad beans. Colonies usually attack en masse, and it is rare for a broad bean plant to escape them. To dislodge them without resorting to insecticides, you can spray them with a mixture of water and black soap (2 tablespoons per litre).

This year, having read that their presence could promote fruiting, we let them be. We soon noticed the presence of ladybirds. The harvest was quite respectable, even if the pods were black and rather sticky! In the end, we enjoyed the beans, and we believe that there are now more ladybirds in the garden because there is not a single aphid on our nasturtiums!