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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19 Jul 09, Emma (United Kingdom - warm/temperate climate)
To Ben & Tony, if you have had flowers then I'm sure you will get pods. The flowers drop off and then the pods will form, just give it a bit more time ! Tony, I've done square foot gardening this year and I crammed 6 plants into a square foot and had a great crop. Patience is truly a virtue when it comes to gardening !
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19 Jul 09, tony (Australia - temperate climate)
thank you for reducing my worries about my broad bean plants not setting either. I was informed that i may have planted my broad beans too close together and the plants were not getting enough sunlight? They flowered well compared to last year, but now the flowers have fallen and no setting yet . . .hopefully i just have to be patient. :)
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17 Jul 09, ben (United Kingdom - cool/temperate climate)
there have been no beans only flowers falling off can u help me so email me at [email protected] thanks
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17 Jul 09, Emma (United Kingdom - warm/temperate climate)
Good luck Marion, hope you get a decent crop. Pinching the tops out is supposed to help deter the blackfly too. Did you know you can eat the tops like baby spinach? They're nice steamed and tossed in some butter and seasoning.
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16 Jul 09, marion english (Australia - temperate climate)
Thanks Emma yes I think patience the essence .Yesterday the local radio station had gardening talk back so called in told themof my problem and he suggested I pinch the top out so have done lthat let you know what happens we are having a cold spell at the moment in the minus,wet and windy
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15 Jul 09, Emma (United Kingdom - warm/temperate climate)
Marion, if you have lovely flowers then you'll probably have lovely pods too - eventually !! My pods appeared about 5 months after I planted them but it was a cold wet winter here in Blighty. I think you may need a little more patience but it will be worth it. They're lovely when young with some mint, new potatoes and feta cheese. Yum :-))
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14 Jul 09, Marion English (Australia - temperate climate)
My broad beans are growing and flowering beautifully but there does not seem to be any pod growing or am I being impatient. I have never grow broad beans before but have a fairly busy garden with success of flowers vegies etc all year around
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10 Jun 09, Emma (United Kingdom - warm/temperate climate)
Delia - are there any flowers yet? You get flowers first and then the beans. I plant my beans in the winter in November and they don't start producing beans until April. It's only been a couple of months so you might need a bit more patience ! Good luck :-))
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10 Jun 09, Fiona (Australia - temperate climate)
Hi Jeff, more stalks mean more beans - no need to do anything! and to Delia, you planted the beans at a great time, now just sit back and be patient as they will slow growth until the weather warms. Expect a crop in Spring!
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09 Jun 09, delia (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
i planted broad beans in march and while they look healthy-lots of lushous green foliage-there's not a hint of even a single bean. any ideas, anyone?
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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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