A week ago, the 30 bean plants in this raised bed were looking reasonably good, and the pods were beginning to swell, but more or less overnight they collapsed into this sorry heap:-
Of course I tried all the usual anti-Blackfly measures, like washing them off with the hosepipe set to spray, and even (unusually for me) squirted them with a proprietary bug spray. To no avail.
I have left in place a few of the least-affected plants, but pulled up the remainder, after picking off the few small pods that they had produced. The "Express" plants were the worst affected, by a long way, and the "Imperial Green Longpod" ones were the least affected.
Fortunately, I have a few more Broad Bean plants in a different place. These are the spares that I couldn't bear to part with. They have developed into the best bean plants of the lot - tall and strong and now bearing plenty of pods.
These are also "Imperial Green Longpod". When it comes to sowing Broad Beans next year (If I sow Broad Beans at all), I shall remember how well this variety did!
The fact that these beans are doing well when the "main crop" ones failed to deliver is another vindication of my normal "belt and braces" approach to my crops. I always try to grow more than one variety of each vegetable type, and I try to keep some spares available to help me replace any casualties. It seems to have paid off on this occasion.
Wow! Utter devastation. I also subscribe to the "belt and braces" theory. And never put all of your eggs in one basket.
ReplyDeleteNoticed today that our broad bean plants are infested with blackfly. Unlike your plants ours seem to have struggled this year so the blackfly have finished them off. Glad you have a few spares to give you some sort of a crop at least.
ReplyDeleteWe have NEVER had blackfly on our broad beans before. I wondered whether it was because our plants were weaklings to start with.
DeleteOh no how frustrating glad you have some back up
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a nasty surprise! I've always read about pinching out the tops of broadbeans to deter blackly, but have to admit that I have never done so.
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain, I love broad beans. I always plant French marigolds in between my plants and if I can get the seeds I grow nasturtiums round the edge of the raised bed with beans in as the former help to keep the blackfly away and the later are attractive to blackfly and can keep the blackfly off the beans. I know some people don't think companion planting works but in my experience it can really help in my mainly organic vegetable garden.
ReplyDeleteJane
That is horrifying. I'm so glad you had other plantings in a different location. Do they even make an insect barrier netting small enough to keep black fly away? I can't imagine what else you would have been able to do.
ReplyDelete