Red Epicure: discover its flavour and how to grow it
Broad bean with purplish-red beans that lighten when cooked. Choose Red Epicure for a striking shelled-bean harvest. A short row beside an ordinary broad bean is enough for a colour comparison without changing a whole storage bed.
This image was created with AI from described plant characteristics and growing advice. It shows a possible situation and is not a photograph of a verified cultivar.
- Crop
- Vicia faba; shell the pods for the beans
- Location
- Sun, firm moisture-retentive soil with drainage
- Start
- Sow early indoors or direct sow in suitable soil conditions
- Support
- Edge supports keep heavy stems upright; not a climber
This growing advice helps you choose. Your variety, growth stage, weather and conditions in your space determine the actual timing.
Sowing under cover and raising seedlings
Start under cover in cool conditions or sow directly · Broad bean
February–MarchStart in cool conditions in deep pots and avoid long, weak growth.
- Germination and temperature
- A cool, bright growing space suits better than a hot loft. Do not sow in waterlogged, cold soil.
- After emergence
- Give seedlings light immediately after emergence. A dark loft needs suitable grow lights; warmth alone is insufficient. Ventilate and keep the compost moist without saturating it.
- Pricking out and potting on
- Use deep modules, pots or a seed gutter. Plant out with the whole root ball; do not pull the roots apart.
- Hardening off and planting out
- Gradually acclimatise indoor-raised plants to sun, wind and outdoor temperatures; shelter them again on cold nights. Plant out sturdy young plants once the soil is workable. Install pea sticks or a frame in good time.
Choose a suitable early or later cultivar. Avoid prolonged warm indoor propagation.
Sources and use
Royal Horticultural Society · RHS — tuinboon kweken ↗Soort- of productgebonden bron; buitenlandse perioden zijn geen vaste Nederlandse zaaidatum.
De Bolster · De Bolster — Tuinbonen telen ↗Nederlandse producent of teeltbron; de rasinstructie blijft leidend.
Guideline periods for the Netherlands and Flanders. Check the variety, available light, soil and measured temperatures. Greenhouse heating does not guarantee enough winter light.
What makes Red Epicure different?
- Main colour
- purplish-red beans, paler after cooking
The source context and any limitations are in the background information at the bottom.
Compare with another varietyFlavour and kitchen
Red Epicure has the character of broad beans; the red seed is the clear difference. Colour gives no proven flavour advantage over a green or pale-seeded type.
This flavour description applies to the crop; a separate taste test for this variety is not supported by evidence.Shell young, filled pods and cook the beans thoroughly. Show the red fresh beans on the harvest platter before cooking; they become paler afterwards.
Why choose it? Choose Red Epicure for a striking shelled-bean harvest. A short row beside an ordinary broad bean is enough for a colour comparison without changing a whole storage bed.
How to grow broad bean
The options below belong to the plant. From these, choose the method that suits your variety's growth habit.
This image was created with AI from described plant characteristics and growing advice. It shows a possible situation and is not a photograph of a verified cultivar.
Double row with loose edge support
Broad beans need no climbing frame. A few posts with horizontal string keep heavy plants from falling out of the row.
- Sow in a weed-free bed at the variety's depth and spacing.
- Install end posts and loose edge support around the row.
- Check moisture during flowering and pod formation and weed early.
- Pick developed pods regularly and shell before use.
For early growing and enough plants for a few meals.
Tick off your supplies →
This image was created with AI from described plant characteristics and growing advice. It shows a possible situation and is not a photograph of a verified cultivar.
A compact variety in a large pot
Low broad bean varieties suit a large container, with a smaller but visible harvest close to home.
- Choose a variety described as compact and use a large pot with drainage.
- Sow or plant with sufficient spacing in fertile compost.
- Add short stakes with loose surrounding support if needed.
- Water regularly and check growing tips for black aphids.
For a sunny patio and a limited harvest.
Tick off your supplies →Why grow Red Epicure?
Broad bean with purplish-red beans that lighten when cooked.
Choose Red Epicure for a striking shelled-bean harvest. A short row beside an ordinary broad bean is enough for a colour comparison without changing a whole storage bed.
How this choice tastes
Red Epicure has the character of broad beans; the red seed is the clear difference. Colour gives no proven flavour advantage over a green or pale-seeded type.
From harvest to kitchen
Shell young, filled pods and cook the beans thoroughly. Show the red fresh beans on the harvest platter before cooking; they become paler afterwards.
What needs attention when growing
Sow early in spring in a free-draining bed. Keep the row accessible for checking and water during prolonged drought at flowering and pod filling.
Harvest young, filled beans for a tender texture. Do not make colour the only criterion: assess a trial pod for actual filling and tenderness.
Choose by flavour, shape and use
Express Eleonora: Broad bean with long pods for fresh shelling. Shell young, filled pods and cook the beans thoroughly. Larger beans can be skinned after cooking if you want to reduce the skin texture in a refined dish.
Young broad beans have the full, slightly earthy character of broad beans. The source supports long pods and productivity, but no separate sweetness compared with other cultivars.
Red Epicure: Broad bean with purplish-red seeds that become paler when cooked. Shell young, filled pods and cook the beans thoroughly. Show the fresh red seeds on the harvest tray before cooking; they become paler afterwards.
Red Epicure has the character of broad beans; the red seed is the clear difference. Colour gives no proven flavour advantage over a green or pale-seeded type.
An early bean is a different crop to grow
Broad beans tolerate cool weather better than French and runner beans, allowing early starts, but wet, frozen soil is no good seedbed. Match pots or direct sowing to variety, forecast and soil; no fixed date fits every garden.
Choose height and harvest type first
Varieties differ in height, earliness and bean colour after cooking. Choose a compact variety for pots and enough space for taller selections in the bed. Autumn sowing is only a separate option with a suitably hardy variety and appropriate conditions; not a general standard.
Large seeds need a clear planting spot
Sow typically about 5 cm deep in loose, moist soil, following variety advice. Deep pots allow planting healthy emerged seedlings. Provide light and avoid wet compost. Harden off before plants remain permanently outdoors.
Leave air between the sturdy stems
Give each plant recommended spacing and leave a harvest path. A double row simplifies building perimeter support. Plant root balls without pulling hard on roots, water in and check drying or slug damage over the first days.
From flower to heavy pod
Leave flowering plants undisturbed and allow pollinating insects access. Keep soil moist in dry weather while pods develop. Temporary protection should not exclude insects throughout flowering. Flowers appearing does not mean every flower will produce a full pod.
Support the row as a whole
Broad bean stems stand upright but can fall under wind and pod weight. Run string at suitable height around the row. Add another level for tall varieties. Support holds the group together without constricting stems.
Look particularly at the soft tips
Black aphids often gather on growing tips. Inspect early and support natural enemies. Once enough lower pods set, topping may reduce vulnerable new growth; do not top blindly before harvest is established. Assess badly damaged shoots separately.
Shell a test pod
Pick once beans inside have grown enough but remain young and tender. Exterior alone tells little: shell a trial pod. Hold the stem while picking. Long-grown beans often have firmer skins than young harvests.
Store fresh and clear the crop
Use shelled harvests promptly or keep briefly cool. Freeze surplus following a suitable method. Clear foliage after growing and optionally leave healthy roots in soil. Use the freed space for an appropriate following crop.
What you need
Tick what you already have. The extras depend on how you grow.
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More background, sources and image information
SeedSteps editorial team · updated on 11 October 2026. The AI images illustrate species and practical growing situations; they do not prove an exact cultivar, observations from your own garden or yield.
Britse gewasadviezen worden gecombineerd met Nederlandse en Vlaamse informatie waar beschikbaar. Amerikaanse Extension-bronnen ondersteunen plantprincipes en herkenning; hun kalenderdata, lokale plaagdruk, bestrijdingsmiddelen en mestdoseringen worden niet rechtstreeks op Nederland of Vlaanderen toegepast. Vorst, bodemwarmte, standplaats en expliciete rasinformatie blijven de lokale controle. Commerciële bronnen onderbouwen uitsluitend benoemde ras- en plantkenmerken; zij zijn geen affiliate-aanbeveling.
- World Checklist of Vascular Plants — 4 juni 2026Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · accessed 2026-10-07
- Tuinboon ‘Red Epicure’ (Vicia faba) – biologische zadenFeggies · accessed 2026-10-11
- Tuinboon Express 'Eleonora' zadenFeggies · accessed 2026-10-11
- De Bolster — Tuinbonen telenDe Bolster · accessed 2026-10-10
- RHS — tuinboon kwekenRoyal Horticultural Society · accessed 2026-10-10
Supporting evidence by chapter: Why grow Red Epicure?: Feggies. How this choice tastes: Feggies. From harvest to kitchen: Feggies. What needs attention when growing: Feggies. Choose by flavour, shape and use: Feggies, Feggies. An early bean is a different crop to grow: Royal Horticultural Society, De Bolster. Choose height and harvest type first: Royal Horticultural Society, De Bolster. Large seeds need a clear planting spot: Royal Horticultural Society, De Bolster. Leave air between the sturdy stems: Royal Horticultural Society, De Bolster. From flower to heavy pod: Royal Horticultural Society, De Bolster. Support the row as a whole: Royal Horticultural Society, De Bolster. Look particularly at the soft tips: Royal Horticultural Society, De Bolster. Shell a test pod: Royal Horticultural Society, De Bolster. Store fresh and clear the crop: Royal Horticultural Society, De Bolster.
Main colour: purplish-red beans, paler after cooking Beschrijving van de genoemde rasbron; geen eigen tuinwaarneming. Feggies