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
    S S S              
    T T T T            
    P P P P            

(Best months for growing Broad Beans in Australia - sub-tropical regions)

  • S = Plant undercover in seed trays
  • T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
  • 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 6°C and 24°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 15 - 25 cm 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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04 Mar 21, gary (Australia - temperate climate)
what soil preparation is best for broad beans,my crops are getting less every year?
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21 Mar 21, Tony (Australia - temperate climate)
I use good old chicken manure (Rooster Booster or similar) and dolomite lime. Dig both in well a few weeks before planting. Don't forget to plant your broad beans in a different spot than the year before
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21 Apr 20, Lea Zimmer (Australia - temperate climate)
This is a worry to me.. My greenhouse seedlings are dying. What can I do. The soil is wet, Do I need artificial lighting and heating. Can someone advise Thank you
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22 Apr 20, M (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Are you playing around with a toy greenhouse from Bunnings or Aldi or do you have a decent size one, like 4-5m x 5-6m. IF your soil is WET WET then you are over watering it. Do you have heavy clay soil or loamy soil. MAKE your soil more friable by adding compost, manures etc. Water should drain through soil easily. I t should not sit on the top for any length of time. A greenhouse protects the plants from the drying sun so water less. Little plants only need a light watering each day for the first week or so, then a good watering each 2-3 days.
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17 Apr 20, Meg (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
What does it mean in the description to pick the tops once the plants settle?
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28 Aug 21, Janet (Australia - temperate climate)
I was interested in this also. It might be a typo but they said "start setting" not "settle". I believe they mean when the pods begin to form ie to set pods. As for the blackfly, Wikipedia was no help. Sometime tiny black bugs appear on the soft new foliage at the top of my plants. I assumed they were aphids.
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02 Dec 21, Celeste Archer (Canada - Zone 7b Mild Temperate climate)
Most likely the bugs are aphids. Ants actually enslave or farm the aphids. The aphids are placed on the juiciest part of the fava bean plant by the ants; and the aphids suck the sap. The aphids then excrete honeydew which is what the ants are after. I generally just hose off (water spray) the aphids - I have also found an organically acceptable spray/pesticide to target the aphids; I try to limit the use of the spray opting for water. You should take action as soon as you see aphids.
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21 Apr 20, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate)
At the top of the broad bean plants there is a growing point - a cluster of new leaves -. When your plants have reached about a metre high (or less for small varieties) , pick out that bunch of leaves. It helps to prevent black fly infestations and encourages the plant to produce more beans from side shoots.
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16 Apr 20, Suem (Australia - temperate climate)
What does it mean when it says "Pick the tops out once beans start setting (to prevent blackfly) ."
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05 Apr 20, Robert Pye (Australia - temperate climate)
I was told to plant the seed so they mature for harvest in September, is that correct?
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Showing 21 - 30 of 268 comments
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Hi Barry, I have had exactly the same problem this year (I am from Central Highlands of Victoria). It's hard to find any information about leaf curl on broad beans via the internet. I have noticed however that it's tended to affect my plants which were overseeded in smaller 25cm containers (most of my plants in larger containers don't have the curl). I suspect that the recent Spring heatwave (we had temps in the mid 30s) has something to do with it - broad beans do not tolerate temperatures above 23 degrees and will start to wilt and die off in the 30s. My diagnosis is probably the combination of unseasonal hot, dry weather and overcrowding is killing them off. This may be the same cause for you if you live in an area that experienced the heatwave. I think you can either leave them and see if they recover on their own, or (which is the course of action I will follow), cutting down the most badly affected plants and leaving some of the others to hopefully regenerate. All the best, P.

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