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Fruit Set

Dawn13Dawn13 Posts: 37
in Fruit & veg

Can anyone tell me, in very simple terms, what the definition of this process is.

All I can find online are very technical explanations ... which are useless unless you are a scientist.

From what I understand it basically refers to whether a flower becomes a fruit or veg and the conditions required for that process to take place.

The reason I'm asking is because I was hunting online for some advice growing my broad beans and discovered a tip saying to pinch out the tips of the lowest forming beans to promote "fruit set".

Thanks.

Posts

  • Dawn13Dawn13 Posts: 37

    Thanks @pansyface ... so if the advice is telling me to do something to PROMOTE fruit set, I'm basically promoting the flowers getting pollinated.

    It seems weird doesn't it that I can make the new flowers more attractive to bees simply by pinching the tips off the lowest forming beans.

     

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,138

    Dawn, I think that you may have read something that's been explained badly.

    I think that what you're being told to do is to pinch out the growing tips of the broad bean plants when the lowest beans have begun to form.

    There's a video here to show you how to do it http://video.allotment-garden.org/108/pinching-out-broad-beans/

    and as it says, cook and eat those shoots - they're a treat I look forward to every year image


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Dawn13Dawn13 Posts: 37

     

    Thank you, thank you, thank you ... I get it now!

    Do you eat the leaves then?

  • Dawn13Dawn13 Posts: 37

    Hi Dovefromabove,

    It won't let me quote your message so I hope you see my reply.

    Thank you so much!

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,138

    Yes pinch out the top shoots and steam them and toss them in butter and black pepper - delicious - the addition of some crispy fried bacon bits is heavenly image


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Dawn13Dawn13 Posts: 37

    ^Have you got a video for that too? image

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,138

    I'll have to make one

    image

     


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Green MagpieGreen Magpie Posts: 806

    Thanks for the reminder, it's time to do that with my first row of beans. I tend to do it as soon as blackfly appear, but so far there's no sign of them, and anyway the bean tops are far from appetising once the blackfly have landed.

  • Dawn13Dawn13 Posts: 37

    My broad bean plant is with my tomato plants which are ringed in pots and pots of French Marigolds ... no bugs anywhere near anything image

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