Welcome to Ashtead Park Garden Centre

The humble Broad Bean can honestly claim to be one of the oldest cultivated plants. Remains of Broad Beans, which are 6500 years old, have been found in Israel. Fresh beans are incredibly nutritious and high in protein. They are one of the easiest beans to grow, and on free draining soils they can be sown now producing a crop up to 3 weeks earlier than spring-sown beans. This early sowing is possible because Broad Bean has a relatively low germination temperature of 2C. If you are tempted to make an early sowing be sure to plant at least 6cm deep in well draining soils in a sheltered sunny spot. In the spring you will need to provide support as most varieties reach up to 4ft, 1.2m in height and can easily been blown. ;