Saturday 2 January 2010

Avoiding the big chill - green shoots

There's been snow lying in Edinburgh since 17th December. Here's a view of the canal on New Year's Day



But inside I've got unexpected lodgers:




They're only there by accident. When storing this year's dried beans away on 1st November I came across some broad beans I'd overlooked from last year. To see if they were viable I soaked them in water:


and they all sprouted!

The next step was to plant them into modules. I had fully intended to plant them out at the plot but they didn't make it before the big freeze.



Considering the forecast before going away at Christmas I had to take them in. Now the big chill shows no sign of ending and my pampered beans are racing away. I'm going to have a hell of a job hardening them off!

Oh, and Happy New Year one and all!

5 comments:

  1. My broad beans appear to be doing nicely under the snow on the plot...not as big as yours yet...but I have no work to do with them so I think I will remain happy in the warm knowing that they are hardy and i don't have to freeze my but off on the plot!!!

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  2. Happy new year. Looks like they'll be indoors for a while yet with all this snow about.

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  3. Would they have made it if you had planted them out already? I grew some last spring, but I didn't know they would over winter. Broad beans are new to me - very few people (that I know of) here in the states grow them.

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  4. Hello,
    You have a very interesting blog, I look forward reading it once gardening season starts.

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  5. Hi David, Yes broad beans are commonly sown in the autumn when they get started and then enter a dormant phase before growing again in the spring (and getting a head start on their younger siblings).

    Hi vrtlarica, thanks for stopping by.

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