Fothergill's RHS Broad Bean Imperial Green Longpod Seeds

Details:

• Botanical Name: Vicia faba 'Imperial Green Longpod', a highly refined, premium-grade selection within the legume family.
• Plant Class: Hardy Annual, establishing with exceptional seedling vigour to rapidly produce a heavy, reliable summer harvest from a spring sowing.
• Exceptional 30cm Pods: Bears an abundance of remarkably long, straight, and well-filled pods that reach up to 30cm in length, making them a standout feature for competitive showing and exhibition use.
• High-Yielding Sweet Beans: Each robust pod contains up to nine large, bright green beans that retain their beautiful, deep emerald color even after cooking, rather than turning a dull grey.
• Gourmet Flavour Profile: Packed with a deliciously rich, sweet, and traditional broad bean flavor, with a meltingly tender skin that makes them perfect for steaming fresh, tossing in spring risottos, or blending into vibrant side dishes.
• Stately Tall Framework: Naturally forms a strong, upright, and multi-branched bush framework reaching a mature height of 100 to 120cm, providing an excellent structural presence in traditional kitchen gardens or allotment plots.
• Nutritional Value: A highly rewarding, health-boosting crop to cultivate at home, serving as a fantastic natural source of plant-based protein, dietary fibre, and essential vitamins.

Care Instructions:

• Sowing Position: Choose a sheltered location with rich, moisture-retentive, and well-drained soil. For the absolute best results, sow seeds thinly directly outdoors from February to April for a summer harvest, or sow in autumn to over-winter the plants for an extra-early crop the following spring. Position in full sun.
• Simple Sowing Method: Draw flat-bottomed trenches 5cm deep and 20cm wide. Place the large seeds in a double row, spacing individual seeds 20cm apart in a staggered "zig-zag" layout to maximise your growing space. Space double rows roughly 60cm apart and cover with soil, firming down gently with the back of a rake before watering deeply.
• Staking and Support: Because this high-yielding variety reaches a tall height of up to 120cm, supporting the heavy vines is highly recommended. Drive sturdy wooden stakes into the ground at the corners of your double rows and run strong twine along the outside of the plants at 30cm intervals to prevent the stems from collapsing under the weight of the developing pods.
• Pest Control and Harvesting: Once the first pods begin to form at the base of the plant, pinch out the top 10cm growing tip of each stem. This simple, traditional technique dramatically reduces the risk of blackfly infestations and redirects the plant's energy into swelling the remaining pods. Harvest the pods regularly from June to August when they are plump, well-filled, and snap cleanly.