It’s been a great year for Broad Beans! If you have grown them for the first time this year and followed my FREE PDF Broad Bean Growing Checklist, you’ll know that they should be ready for harvesting about Mid June onwards.

What do Broad Bean pods look like when they are ready to harvest?

The pods will look quite long (depending on variety) and you should be able to see the knuckles of the beans inside the pod. The pods will feel quite firm.

How to Harvest Broad Beans – Video

How do I Harvest the Broad Bean Pods?

1. You will need to harvest the Broad Bean pods at the bottom of the plant to start with and work your way up.

2. Personally I harvest the Broad bean pods as and when I need them and not all at once. This is because I like to eat them fresh.

3. Please refer to my Broad Bean comparison table to check how many Beans you will be expecting per pod approximately.

3. Hold the plant stem with one hand and pull the pod off the plant with the other hand.

4. Put the broad bean pods in your harvest basket and harvest what you need.

5. Get your children involved in the picking, opening pods and picking out the Broad Beans. It’s great for their little fingers.

Get children involved in the harvest

It is great experience for children to learn about where their food comes from and my daughter who is 5, loves the white fur in the pods, she couldn’t stop touching it and she also wanted to count the beans once she had taken them all out of their pods. There’s nothing quite like a furry Broad Bean pod!

6. Open the Broad bean pods like a banana by snapping the top over and pulling off the string. (see video). This will start you off, just put your finger or finger nail down the length of the pod to open both halves of the pod.

7. Take the beans out of the pods and put in your harvest pot, ready for taking to the kitchen.

From 10 Broad Bean pods, I had 50 Broad Beans. This is a great size portion for two adults. I add Broad Beans to pasta, gnocchi, poke bowls, stir fries or salad.

Broad Bean Variety – Express Eleonora

Sow, Grow, Harvest Review 2024

I have really enjoyed growing these broad beans. The plants are compact and stay upright. The plants do not take up much room at one end of my raised bed. I am impressed that most pods contained 5 broad beans. I planted 4 plants and this was enough for plenty of meals for 2 adults.

Reasons why I picked variety: Express Eleonora

• They are good for windy gardens – I agree, they are very sturdy plants with thick stems.
• They are a medium height variety – My plants are 90cm high.
• The pods contain approximately 4-5 broad beans – My pods do mostly contain 5 beans and there are loads of pods all over the plant.

Thank you for following my Broad Bean Growing Series – Parts 1 – 6.

Here’s all the Links to the Parts 1-6 in one place.

Part 1 📕 Broad Beans – Origin, Nutrition & Growing Conditions – Find out why you should grow Broad Beans, why they are so good for you and what growing conditions you need.

Part 2 📗 Comparing Broad Bean Varieties with Free Variety Comparison Chart to help you choose which variety is suitable for your garden or condition’s.

Part 3 📘 How to Sow, Grow, Harvest Broad Beans – FREE PDF Checklist – save or Print this free checklist which covers when to sow, grow and harvest broad beans. Extras include how to deal with pests.

Part 4 📙 How to Plant out Broad Beans in a Raised Bed with Video – Watch this handy 1 minute video to show you how to plant out Broad Bean plants into a raised bed.

Part 5 📓– Flowering & Beans Pods Growing – see how the broad beans are growing.

Part 6 📒 How to Harvest Broad Bean Pods with Video and Bonus – Free PDF Download of my Broad Bean Timeline.

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