David Beckham’s Vegetable Garden Is Posh Perfection – Expert Shares the Secrets to His Enviable Harvest

As the end of fall approaches, gardeners across the globe are reaping the rewards of their labor, in the form of their final seasonal harvest. I love this time of year, gathering all I can from my vegetable patches to make warm, hearty soups during winter.

Former England football player Sir David Beckham and his much-loved designer wife, Victoria, seem to feel exactly the same, and recently got super excited while sharing their fall crop with their followers online.

Last week, David took to Instagram to share a video Victoria recorded of him pottering around their vegetable garden, harvesting crops. "Very happy with some of our produce from this year," David penned in the post's caption. "Pumpkins next Victoria?".

What's Growing on David's Plot?

I never knew David was so green-fingered, and I was amazed by how good his vegetables looked this year. His garden is certainly a showstopper.

With the help of insight from a gardening pro, here's a breakdown of what David harvested in his yard this year, as well as what else seems to be growing well.

1. Broad Beans

The first vegetable David harvested was his fava beans (aka broad beans). The crop seems to have grown amazingly well this year, still looking full and leafy green even in October, reaching up to his shoulders in height.

This variety of bean is usually sown outdoors in March, April, or early May to produce harvests throughout the summer, so we're guessing David's beans were planted on the later end of this scale to still be producing tasty legumes this late in the year.

You can tell a fava bean is ready for harvesting when the individual pods appear full-looking and feel firm. You may also be able to clearly distinguish the shape of the beans through the pod.

2. Red Onions

The next vegetable in David's harvest were his show-stopping red onions. You can tell they're from a bumper crop due to their full size and amazing deep purple color.

Whitney Klonsky, founder of the Rhubarb app for home gardeners, spotted just how bountiful David's onion crop was this year too, though she noted it was rather late in the year to harvest them.

"The timing couldn't be better for harvesting those spectacular red onions," says Whitney. "The soil is still pretty loose and dry at this time of year, making it perfect for lifting the onions and drying out the skins.

"They would have been ready to harvest from mid-September, so if David waited much longer, there would have been a real risk of the onions rotting or getting moldy with the wetter weather that's coming. Harvest time is now or never for the onions."

3. Cabbages

Though David didn't harvest any in this video, near the end when he's standing by his raised beds Whitney spotted some lush, leafy cabbages. It may seem late in the year for David to have not harvested all his veg yet, but Whitney explained to me that now is actually the prime time to harvest leafy greens, as the cooling weather naturally works to enhance their flavor.

"I spotted some incredible looking cabbages behind David near the end of the video, and late October into November is actually perfect timing for them," says Whitney.

"They've likely had the chance to go through a light frost, which is magic for flavor. Cool overnight temps and light frost force the cabbage to convert starches into sugars, which dramatically improves the flavor."

Though it's best to harvest cabbages before the winter fully kicks in, otherwise they will begin to wilt and turn mushy.

4. Edamame

The last thing David harvested appeared to be edamame, from the look of the bean's flatter appearance. Pods of edamame ready to harvest are typically bright green and filled with visible bean pods that have begun to plump.

As David tosses a bean up into the air and catches it in his mouth under the sunny sky, I can't help but dream of having a larger produce patch like his one day. Who knows, maybe next year I'll start the process of expanding it.

How to Grow a Garden like David's