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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04 Nov 13, Michael (Australia - temperate climate)
I've planted my purchased broad beans seeds just before September, almost at the start of our Spring season here in Berwick, Victoria. Australia. I prepared the soil three weeks earlier, just tilled it to kill the grass and then formed several lines of raised beds - as always - for drainage. I planted the seeds not on top of the raised mounts but slightly offside and in a zig-zag pattern between seeds. Now they are around 70cm high and in flower. Broad beans can tolerate a variety of soil condition and full sun. They also love having companions plants. I planted potatoes, radishes, silver beets and beetroots spaced between them and accordingly the tallest goes at the back and the shortest at the front, so that each gets sunlight even in late afternoon. (Edited)
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13 Jul 13, Ron (Australia - temperate climate)
How tall do broad bean plants eventually grow to
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22 Jul 13, (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
It varies. I had some dwarf ones grow to about a metre, and others to 1.5 metre
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30 Jun 13, ron hutton (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
what fertiliser do i use for my broadbeans. potash ?
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03 Aug 13, Gene (Australia - temperate climate)
Broad Beans don't need any fertiliser. They produce heaps of nitrogen on their own and can be used as a green fertiliser crop themselves. Some people even grow two or three around their fruit trees in winter for the additional nitrogen they produce. When you're finished with the crop, don't pull them out. Cut them off and leave the roots in the ground to break down. It's ideal to use the plot for growing plants that need high nitrogen in next - such as your leafy greens.
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01 Dec 21, Celeste Archer (Canada - Zone 7b Mild Temperate climate)
Though Broad beans like all beans fix their own nitrogen, they still need micro nutrients, as well as phosphorus, and potassium (macro nutrients). I find that adding a dose of micronutrients to the just planted seed soil gets them going faster, I hear that phosphorus works like an alarm clock. I also hit them with any kind of manure I can source; chicken, steer, cattle, sheep, alpaca.. whatever.
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11 Jun 13, Ally Millington (Australia - temperate climate)
Growing Broad Beans for the first time - we had a storm during the week and some of the stems/leaves got damaged so I pruned them off and tied them up... will they be ok?
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14 May 13, Paul (Australia - temperate climate)
I planted the Broad beans in March the plants are 1 meter high . .I have had the white flowers come on the stems but have not got any bean pods . Am i doing something wrong or do i need to do something else ?
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30 Jun 13, (Australia - temperate climate)
You can try fertilising the flowers yourself with a cotton bud or wait till it warms up and the bees will do it for you! It may still be too cold for pods to set also :)
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05 Jun 13, Nicolas Connault (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Same here, Paul, got some white flowers on some of the plants, they've gone now and I can't see any pods. However, an old gardener friend of mine smiled when I told her and she said: "Be patient, Nicolas, be patient, they'll come!". So I'm following her advice :-)
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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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