Crimson Flowered Broad Beans really do have stunning deep-crimson flowers. These are followed by short, upright pods filled with smaller, pale green beans that make up in numbers what they lack in size! Plants grow to around 90cm and often produce several stems. We are particularly excited to have this seed for you because Crimson Flowered is a successfully rescued heirloom variety, dating back to the 1780s. Beautiful enough for the flower border and delicious enough for the veg plot, this one is highly recommended.
Sow: from February to April indoors or March to May outside. We start all our beans in pots, sowing 50mm deep, and then plant them out, but you can sow them where they are to grow and protect the young plants with cloches while they get going. Later spring sowings are quite happy out in the open.
Grow: grow on in their pots and plant out when about 15cm tall. Crimson Flowered often produces multiple stems and we have found that they can need support once the pods begin to form. We run a cane and string 'fence' around the rows, which works well. As this is an old variety you may see a little variation in the flower colour.
Enjoy: pinch out the growing tips when the plants are in full flower and use those tender tops as greens. This will also restrict the eventual height of the plants. Pick the pods when the beans are beginning to show but before they become too large. The beans themselves are smaller than many modern broad beans but plentiful, with a lovely sweet flavour. Lightly steamed and eaten while they're young and fresh, they're a reminder of why some old varieties are well worth hanging on to.
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