Growing Broad Beans, also Fava bean

Vicia faba : Fabaceae / the pea or legume family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
              P P      

(Best months for growing Broad Beans in USA - Zone 5a regions)

  • P = Sow seed
  • Easy to grow. Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 43°F and 75°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 6 - 10 inches apart
  • Harvest in 12-22 weeks. Pick frequently to encourage more pods.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Dill, Potatoes

Your comments and tips

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23 Jun 11, Karen Harris (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I live on the gold coast and have planted some beans, they have been growing very well, but today the leaves looked a bit sorry for themselves, we had a cold night last night, no frost, I think it went down to about 6 degrees. the soil was damp, so I have watered it again. Could this be the cold night's or something else? Any suggestions, this is my first time at planting, so far carrots, spring onions, Cos and capsicum are doing well. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
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05 Jun 11, Paula (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi, I'm new to growing veggies. I planted broad beans in Mar/Apr - they've grown well and are tall and bushy, and have been flowering for a while....but no sign of any pods forming! (even where the flowers have died off) When can i expect to get beans? And is it possible the amount of ants on the plants is in some way preventing the beans from growing?
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07 Jun 11, (Australia - arid climate)
The ants are probably there feeding on honey-dew from blackfly. They won't be a problem in themselves. If the plants are at a flowering size then you can nip off the top leaves (and steam and eat them) as this will encourage the flowers to set.
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13 Jun 11, Tracey (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi Paula, Broad beans are insect pollinated but pollinators such as bees are not very active during cold weather. Blossom drop is not unusual if temperatures are too cool or if the flowers are not getting pollinated. That's why it's a good idea to try to time planting so the broad beans are flowering just as the spring weather warms and the bees are appearing in numbers. In my area Sept to early Oct, your area may be different - observation and note taking will be helpful for next year's crop. You should eventually get beans on this year's sowing, but for next season you might want to time planting for a bit later and use the space for a fast maturing catch crop before the broad beans go in.
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04 Jun 11, Jan (Australia - temperate climate)
I have planted broadbeans this year and some of my seeds have come up and some not, could it be the seed or something else I am doing? Are the seed already planted likely to come up? I looked where I had planted and found the seeds however they don't look like sprouting. Please help
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12 Mar 11, jim (Australia - temperate climate)
i planted broad bean seeds and snopea seed in seed raising mix and they have totally dissapeared any ideas please
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04 Apr 11, Caren (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi Jim - they could have been taken by ants and stored for a later date - that is what happened to most of my seeds for the last 4 months. Now as most of the ants are dead I have got seeds popping up all over the place.
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25 Mar 11, Brad (Australia - temperate climate)
Just an idear Jim, but did you water only once after sowing? I've read that you must only water once to provent rotting, maybe your bean seeds just decomposed into the potting mix?
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05 Mar 11, liz newell (Australia - temperate climate)
can I use dried broadbeans from supermarket to plant? I dont have seeds from last year. Do I have to buy lots of packets from a nursery for a mass planting for my school garden? Thanks
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27 Mar 11, (Australia - temperate climate)
HI LIZ, SAVE YOUR MONEY BUY BULK DRIED BROAD BEANS FROM THE MARKET IF YOU HAVE ONE. SOAK FOR 24 HOURS, THEN PLANT OUT, DO NOT OVERWATER JUST KEEP SOIL MOIST. I BOUGHT 2 KG OF BEANS FROM ADELAIDE MARKET 2 YEARS AGO FOR $3 AND AM STILL PLANTING THEM
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Let's start with the germination temperature: 7c to 18c is the ideal germination temperature for FB, further the temperature needs to be sustained (over 5 or more days). So it needs to be warmish for the seeds to germinate. They will however happily reside in the soil until those temperatures are met (within reason- excess moisture causing rot etc.). The growing temperature for fava beans is between 4c and 24c. The kill temperature is -4c to -10c depending on the variety. What happens between the kill temperature and the grow temperature is a "waiting/holding" time (the plant is alive, but is sort of in limbo until the temperature is good enough again to grow). Above 24c the plant is starting to experience heat related symptoms and again is just holding on (unless the temps get to hot and kill the plant). You need to think about temperatures - what temps do you expect over the next month ? Based on the temperatures, do you think you seeds will germinate ? Then think about the grow temperatures -- if the seeds sprout will they be able to grow ? Generally if you want to grow fava beans in winter you plant them in late summer - so they germinate and grow enough BEFORE the cold weather -- during the cold weather (provided your are does not get too cold) the beans will be able to stay alive and grow a slight bit -- so you can harvest greens during winter and some beans -- then spring comes and the fava plants put forth LOTS of beans and then die. That is to say, the fava bean plant does not grow very much in cold weather and I find that typical of most plants that I want to over winter. They need to have a head start in decent weather and then they kind of SLOWLY inch their way to the finish line. Over wintering is a means of keeping the produce fresh - think of it this way - if you had produce in the fridge it is no longer growing, in fact it is in the process of dying, losing valuable nutrients daily. If you have a plant in the winter ground (that can handle overwintering), it is alive, GROWING REALLY REALLY slow, but it is alive and NOT losing nutrients. I guess what I'm trying to say is, super performance is generally not required, or expected, we are just looking to hold nutrients when we over winter. Clearly some plants are better for overwinter than others - in my area FAVA BEANS are a good choice.

- Celeste Archer

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