When to Plant Broad Beans? Detailed Guide to Planting Time and Methods
Broad beans can be eaten as a snack or used in dishes, making them a fairly popular vegetable. So how do broad beans grow? What are their planting time and methods?
1. Broad Bean Planting Time
Broad beans are planted in two seasons, spring and autumn. In the north and northwest regions, they are sown in March-April; in the south, they are sown in October.
2. Broad Bean Planting Methods
1. Variety selection. Generally speaking, choose plump, disease-free seeds. In areas with fertile soil and high fertilization levels, choose fertilizer-tolerant, lodging-resistant varieties to give full play to their yield-increasing potential; in areas with poor soil and low fertilization levels, choose stable-yielding varieties with wide adaptability and tolerance to poor soil.
2. Seed treatment. Broad bean seeds should undergo seed treatment before sowing. Sun the seeds for 2-3 days before sowing to increase the germination rate.
3. Land preparation. Plow the selected soil, and at the same time dig furrows and form beds, with furrows connected to one another. In fields with poor drainage, the furrows should be dug deep, and the bed surface should not be too wide. After digging furrows and breaking up the soil, make holes and sow in spots, then cover the seeds with fine manure or fine soil to ensure emergence.
4. Reasonable close planting. Fields with good fertility conditions can be sown appropriately thinly, while fields with poor fertility conditions should be planted appropriately densely.
5. Fertilization. Before sowing, apply a base fertilizer, mainly farmyard manure. When broad beans have 3-4 leaves, use 2-3 kg of urea, 10-20 kg of calcium superphosphate, and 5-10 kg of potassium fertilizer per mu, mix the three fertilizers, dilute with water, and pour at the roots. The flowering and pod-setting stage is the peak period of fertilizer demand in the entire life of broad beans, with nitrogen accounting for 80% of the total fertilizer applied during the whole growth period, phosphorus 90%, and potassium 63%. Generally, use 3-5 kg of urea and 5 kg of potassium fertilizer per mu, dilute with water, and apply at the roots. In addition, potassium dihydrogen phosphate or molybdenum fertilizer can be selected for foliar spraying to increase the 100-grain weight.
6. Irrigation and pruning. Broad beans are a crop that requires a fair amount of water. At the seedling stage, there are few leaves and temperatures are low, so irrigation is generally not carried out. During the flowering and podding stage, bud stage, and seed-filling stage, there must be sufficient moisture. Timely irrigation for flowering and podding, budding, and seed filling is the foundation for ensuring normal growth of broad beans. When the main stem leaves grow to 3-4 compound leaf nodes, promptly remove 1-2 leaf nodes from the top of the main stem, and after the beginning of spring remove ineffective branches and weak branches.
7. Weed promptly, persist in chemical weeding, and prevent and control pests and diseases
Pull out weeds promptly to prevent nutrient loss.
8. Prevent pests and diseases. Prevent rodent damage and control leafminers and diseases at the appropriate time. Generally, control twice before the beginning of spring and carry out comprehensive pest and disease control 3 times after the beginning of spring. The timing of pesticide application should be in early December, late January of the following year, and late February. Broad bean aphids, root rot, and leaf spot are the main pests and diseases harming broad beans during their growth and development period. Timely control can reduce unnecessary losses.
9. Harvesting. For broad beans eaten as a vegetable, harvest according to the standard of being green, tender, full-grained, and good in taste. If too early, the grains are small, too young, and the yield is low; if too late, the texture is hard and not suitable for table consumption. Choosing the best picking period is the only way to achieve relatively good market economic benefits.
Broad bean cultivation is mainly concentrated in spring and autumn, and during its growth process it mainly needs the support of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers. As long as you pay more attention to flowering and pod setting during cultivation and supplement nutrition and water well, you will certainly be able to grow plump broad beans.