How do I grow peas and beans?

Peas and beans are legumes, which means they fix nitrogen in the soil through root nodules. Leaving the roots in the ground after harvest genuinely benefits the following crop, which is why they anchor most rotation plans.

What you'll need

• Seed
• Canes or netting
• Mesh against birds and mice (optional)
• Water (optional)

Step by step

1. Sow at the right temperature for the crop.Broad beans and peas tolerate cold and can go in early or over winter. French and runner beans are frost-tender and must wait until after the last frost.
2. Put the supports up before or as you sow.Canes, netting or a wigwam. Trying to add support to sprawling plants later damages them and is far more difficult.
3. Protect early sowings from mice and birds.Mice take pea and bean seed readily, and birds take the seedlings. Mesh or fleece over the row until they are established.
4. Water generously once flowering starts.This is the critical period. Drought at flowering causes flowers to drop and pods not to set, which is the main cause of a poor crop.
5. Pinch out the tips of broad beans once pods start forming.It directs energy into the pods and removes the soft tips that blackfly congregate on.
6. Pick every few days once cropping starts.Regular picking keeps the plant producing. Pods left to mature signal that the plant has finished and production stops.
7. Cut the plants at ground level when finished.Leave the roots in the soil. The nitrogen-fixing nodules break down and feed the following crop.
8. Follow them with a leafy crop.Brassicas or leaf crops benefit most from the nitrogen left behind. This is the standard rotation and it works.

Tips

• Successional sowing every two or three weeks extends the harvest across months rather than producing everything at once.
• Runner beans need consistent moisture at the root more than most crops. A sunken pot or bottle beside the plants delivers water where it is needed.
• Peas are dramatically better eaten within an hour of picking. This is one of the strongest arguments for growing them at all.

Common mistakes

• Adding support after the plants have started sprawling — It damages the stems and the plants never establish properly on the frame. Support goes in at sowing.
• Letting them dry out at flowering — Flowers drop and pods fail to set. It is the single most common cause of a poor bean or pea crop.
• Pulling the roots up after harvest — The nitrogen-fixing nodules in the roots feed the following crop. Cut the tops off and leave the roots in the ground.

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