Mourda Reina Mouz Broad Bean (organic) - Image 2

Mourda Reina Mouz Broad Bean (organic)

£2.90

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An incredibly rare and endangered Catalan heritage variety that we got from our friend Adam Alexander, ‘The Seed Detective’, who was in turn given it by fellow seed collector Jesus Vargasthis. This lovely bean is delicious and hardy, with vigorous plants cropping heavily in late spring / early summer from an autumn sowing. If you leave the beans, they’ll turn from green to a beautiful, rich, deep purple colour, hence why their name translates as ‘Purple Queen’. You can also sow them in early spring.

For the most tender, tasty beans, pick them before they get too big and starchy. They make a great alternative to the traditional tomato based ‘beans on toast’, simply by simmering them for a few minutes in a smidge of water, melted butter and black pepper. When the water’s evaporated, tip them onto your toast and shake over plenty of lemon juice.

Approx. 30 seeds.

Botanical name: Vicia faba

Best sown from mid-October until late November, though can be successfully sown in early spring, though harvesting period will be later and the plants will be more susceptible to blackfly attack, which the autumn-sown plants usually avoid. This is one of the big advantages of autumn-sown compared to spring-sown varieties, along with earlier and higher yields (the plants have a longer growing season and are markedly bigger). Sow first in modules where rodents are a problem, then transplant out when large enough to handle.

Due to their stature they need supports; sow them in a double-row then in late-winter/early Spring insert bamboo canes at intervals along the rows and run some jute twine around the canes to hold the bean plants upright. They get quite weighty once they’re carrying a full complement of pods.