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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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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06 Apr 20, anon (Australia - temperate climate)
Plant March to June - 12-22 weeks to maturing,
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10 Feb 20, Anne Brooker (Australia - temperate climate)
Where can I buy the the green fava bean seeds
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Showing 21 - 30 of 266 comments
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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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