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 Aug 10, Chris (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
The ants are probably there to feed on nectar secreted by blackfly/greenfly. If you can get rid of the blackfly then the ants will go too. A dilute mix of flour and water can get rid of greenfly - it glues them down. I don't know how it will go with all this rain, but maybe worth a try?
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21 Aug 10, Mark (Australia - temperate climate)
Thanks. I checked this morning and I have flowers! Looks like I was just a bit early.
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03 Aug 10, Rick Kyle (Australia - temperate climate)
Do you know where I can get fresh Broad beans? If not in season, when should I expect to be able to see them? Who (in Perh) is most likely to carry them? Do any (exclusive suppliers) import them in the off-season? I have Parkinson's disease and I have heard that they are high in L-DOPA which is what I'm low on.
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16 Aug 10, tony (Australia - temperate climate)
great timing, broad beans coming into harvest in Perth WA now :)!!! Any half descent vegie market or continental deli should be able 2 supply.
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18 Jul 10, green toes (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
sounds like a good idea
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18 Jul 10, Roger (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
This is my first time growing beans, my plants look healthy but I have more then one stem on each plant should these be cut off to concentrate on one stronger plant?
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18 Jul 10, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Roger, we just leave all the stems and although they tend to flop around a bit, they all produce plenty of beans.
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24 Jul 10, Roger (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
Thanks Liz will take your advice.
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11 Jul 10, Andrew (Australia - temperate climate)
My bean plants look healthy and quite tall, but no flowers or beans. It has been very cold here the last two weeks or so. Whats wrong? Thanks
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21 Aug 10, Margaret (Australia - temperate climate)
I am so excited, like you my broad bean plants looked healthy but they did have lots of flowers, but no beans. When I watered them this morning and looked I have LOTS of small beans coming on. So be patient, yours should start soon. I think it is the warmer weather.
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Showing 251 - 260 of 344 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.

- Prometheus

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