Craig,

HavenÂt grown these, but they did catch my attention ÂÂ

BROAD BEANS
Crimson Flowered (Rare 1778)
Bright crimson flowered stalks are a wonderful sight in the spring garden. Sow November or February for delicious fava beans in May/June. Heirloom plant originates in England.

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Here is a link that might be useful: Crimson Flowered

Ciao from Italy, Craig. There's a whole range of BBs with Aquadulce somewhere in the name. I've got two versions in the ground here at the moment - Super A., and A. Supersimonia. All I can say at the moment is that they're growing like beauties. Now that the weather has started to warm up a tad, anyway.

Hello Finbar and Dorothy.
Thanks very much for your help. I have seen the crimson flowered BB advertised through Diggers seeds down at Dromana. Could be worth growing with the wonderful crimson flowers.
Finbar, good to hear from you. Mrs Finbar and yourself have settled in Italy nicely. I hope both of you are keeping good health and that life is treating you well. It has turned very cold here at present with 13C yesterday; the rain is much needed though.
I can well believe there would be lots of Aquadulce-named variants in the BB world. II'l keep searching for more unusual varieties.
Cheers
Craig

You might try sourcing:
Aquadulce Claudia ( white seeds) good for autumn planting dries well. This might be what you have got.
Coles Dwarf and Coles Prolific ( probably the most well know in Oz)
Imperial Green (longpod smaller seed but up to 12 in a pod
Jubilee Hysor (Egyptian type ET) short and dries well
Medes (ET, compact and wind resistant) spring sowing for summer
Sutton - dwarf take wind well pretty disease resistant but hard to source in Oz - English variety.
Masterpiece - supposedly the 'true' Fava bean.
Witkiem Manita - good producer but a bit bland for me.

I'm growing a few different varieties so will hopefully have seeds to spare in spring.

I am trying something new with mine and growing some in the bigger tomato pots. Seems a shame to have them sitting around with nothing in them.

Gosh Cosmicgardener - you are a mine of information. I grew broad beans for the first time last year (aquadulce) but this year I will remember to stake them. As with tomatoes, I can never imagine just how large and cumbersome these tiny little plants are going to become and I always end up with a sprawling jungle.

Hello Cosmicgardener.
Thank you very much for the list of varieties. It is a comprehensive list and is a good reference. Would the Aquadulce Claudia have white seed when dry? I know it may sound like a silly question, but my Aquadulce are mostly light tan-although some are lighter in colour. Also, why are some, the dwarf ones, spring sown only? Would they be as dwarf in height if sown in Autumn say? Some of the dwarf ones interest me a lot and certainly would be more manageable.
I would very much appreciate some seed of any of the other varieties if you could spare some in spring. I may have some other veggie seeds you could use as a trade.
Thanks again
Craig

Hi koeksoetie - I have a genetic tendency towards vegetable gardening; learned a lot from my Dad and Rudolph Steiner teachings before biodynamics was named such ;-) One of the tricks he taught me was to keep a diary and I have done so for years. That way I can reference the varieties I've planted over the years and see how they fared in different locations. I plant my broad beans quite closely because they then become self supporting - particularly in this windy garden - I actually use them as a windbreak and I do favour the dwarf varieties although they do get quite tall.
Craig, all the ones I've grown turn various shades of brown when dried. There are white seeds and green seeds and the white ones are probable what you'd call a light tan where the green ones tend to have more iron in them and get darker when they are dried out. I hope I didn't mislead you by implying that dwarfs were only for spring sowing. In fact this is the first year I'm doing an autumn planting but I have a note next to Aquadulce that it thrives in autumn planting - so I must have planned on planting them at some time. Some varieties take longer than others to mature - anything from 90 to 150 days and I understand that the autumn planting of long maturing varieties like Aquadulce will burgeon in spring and even catch up to spring planted ones, so I reckon its more a matter of the spring planting ones will mature quickly. Peter Cundall reckons that you should plant in autumn if you have any tendency to rust or broad bean mite so that the colder conditions will kill the nasties. It depends on your climate. Here is Tas I can grow them right up to early December. I'll be saving seed this year. Mostly I crop them for drying after we've had a good few feeds. They are a rewarding crop. Will let you know when I have seeds available.

Craig, one of my favourite broad beans is Scarlet Cambridge. The seeds are smaller than the ordinary broad bean seeds, and PURPLE! When harvested young for fresh eating, they are just delicious (and green, of course).

Send me an email if you'd like some seeds of Scarlet Cambridge.

If anyone knows of other broad bean seeds that are an unusual colour/pattern when dried, I'd be interested to learn of them.

I've grown Peruvian Red Cheek for Seedsavers and they are cream coloured with a red/pink patch (just like a cheek - surprise!). They are incredibly pretty. I'll be growing them again this year to save more seeds. So, I won't be sharing those this year. But hopefully next year.

The seeds for my A. Supersimonia are purple/scarlet.

Hello Spatzbear.
I would love some Scarlet Cambridge. Will email you ASAP. T hanks for your reply Cosmicgardener. I guess sowing in spring would reduce the amount of vegetative growth of many varieties of broad bean.
Cheers
Craig

That's interesting, finbar. Thanks. Must look that up.

Craig, no problem. Will send some to you. Hope you like it. :)

Just a reminder to those saving BB seeds. They cross-pollinate quite readily. If growing several varieties, and purity of variety is required, it's best to either separate them by 100m or so (either side of the house should do it), or bag the plants. Whole groups can be bagged in one go if planted close together. When enough pods have set, remove the bags and mark them somehow so as not to mix up gabbed and unbagged pods. Since they set from the bottom up, removing the unset top portion of the plant should do it.
Good luck and enjoy your harcest.

Andrea, received the seeds of Scarlet Cambridge today. I will put them in this weekend. They look great with the deep purple colour. Maybe I should get the computer to colour-match the same purple colour and get the Beast painted in a new shade-would look great!
Thanks for the tip Ray. I will probably grow Scarlet Cambridge in large pots around the front of the house and Aquadulce in the veggie plot at the back.
Cheers
Craig

Ooooohhh... the purple beast of decadence and debauchery. Go for it, Craig! :)

Craig, I'm still harvesting french beans in Melbourne!!! I find they do really well when sown in March.

Hello Lomatia.
That is handy to know. I always stopped sowing french beans after Jan (dwarf) and Dec (climbing). Will try sowing in March next season.
Cheers
Craig