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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02 Jun 10, (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Hi Candice, you should pull out finished broad bean plants. If possible twist them off to leave the roots to decay in the ground as the bacterial nodules on the roots contain nitrogen which will be fertilizer for whatever you plant next.
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31 May 10, Gayle Bailey (Australia - temperate climate)
Half of our row of broad beans have half curled leaves, whole bed was fertilised the same and there is no sign of any bugs. This seems to happen every year and we do crop rotate. Help please.
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25 May 10, Paul (New Zealand - temperate climate)
How to prevent the plant falling down each other? "it is best to provide some support with posts and stringusing." I think the best way is to choose a proper time to sow. Sow in May or June rather than Mar or April. Because sow in winter, the plant grows slowly. During spring the plant will grow fast and strong that wouldn't fall.
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15 Dec 10, Scott (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
We top our broad beans and that helps them bush out; besides the fleshy plant tips are great for steaming...I like them better than spinach!
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11 May 10, Bernie (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Hi Gardenate, thank you for the prompt reply.I find the information of seeding of the year very useful , spacing depth of Seed etc, would like a comment about each plant seed, like,' LIKES LIME, ACID SOIL, LOTS OF WATER, WATER SPARINGLY, HOT SUNNY POSITION, etc.You get my drift !Bernie
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11 May 10, Chris@Gardenate (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Bernie, thanks for your suggestions. Some of that information will be available very soon when I get the crop rotation information into the web site.
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02 May 10, (Australia - temperate climate)
My friend said that the best time to sow broad beans is when the moon is between a quarter to almost full. Is he right. Does the moon play a part when sowing crops? Any hints.
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05 Apr 10, Robbie (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Try growing Egyptian Broad Beans. The beans are smaller then regular BB, But they don't go woody as the pods mature. And they are not affected by frost much at all. The plants are shorter and mature quicker too. I love them
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27 Apr 10, Graham (Australia - temperate climate)
Robbie, where do you get the Egyptian broad beans - I haven't seen them anywhere
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09 Mar 10, Rob (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
@Lindsay, It's the roots that you plough back into the soil and that provides nitrogen(essential for foliage growth)
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Showing 271 - 280 of 344 comments
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The nice thing about fava beans is you don't have to cook them -- and you don't have to shell them (if they are still young -- they are young enough to eat whole UP TO THE point where they have plumped up fully and the pod is NOT YET fibrous -- once the pods are fibrous the pods need to be discarded (keep the beans) because the fibrous pods are too difficult to digest and will cause lots of discomfort). OK -- so I use my young pods raw (entire pod -- and some leaves and stalk) to make a pesto. I use this pesto as a dip. I also chop up the full pod and use them in stews (Garnish with some leaves). I use the leaves and some stalk (chopped up) when I make scrabbled eggs -- adding the fava once the scrambled eggs are about 15 seconds from done -- in other words just incorporating them into the scrambled eggs and then removing from the pan. If your unsure about what I mean when I say fibrous -- if you where to put the full pod in a blender/chopper -- after you chop, look at the mixture -- if the pods where too fibrous you will see "MESH" yes "MESH" -- looks like pieces of wire mesh -- pick these out and discard these. I NEVER DOUBLE SHELL -- the beans are always good -- but may need to be softened up like any dried bean needs to be.

- Celeste Archer

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