The catch-crop of Radishes is beginning to swell now, and I expect to be picking the first ones within a few days.
Broad Bean plants never seem very robust (though I suppose they must be), so I always give them some support. This is my method: I put a stout stake at the end of each row and tie two lengths of soft string to them.
I then arrange the beans so that one string goes each side of the stalk, like this:
As the beans grow taller, I put in more rows of string - usually about 3 or 4 pairs.
The final part of the procedure at this point is to put in some aluminium rods topped with balls from the "Build-a-Ball" kit, and drape a net over the whole thing.
The net will protect the bed from the foxes / badgers, deterring them from nosing about in the moist soil in their search for worms.
Looking closely at the plants, I see that flowers are already forming:
This means that we'll be eating Broad Beans in about a month's time.
