Broad Bean ‘Black Russian’ – Irish Seed

Sourced from the Irish Seed Savers. An ancient variety grown in Russia since time out of mind. They are very hardy and I have saved seed from them in very wet and windy summers whereas other varieties I tried succumbed to chocolate spot. Plants are a bit over a meter high so need supporting. The mature beans are a deep dark purple almost black. I grow them for the dry beans and have used in stews, ful madames and such.

Sow directly in the soil from late February until the end of April. Early sowings are less vulnerable to black bean aphid (blackfly) damage as the plants are well established before they strike.

Average 20 seeds per packet.