(Vicia faba) One of the oldest cultivated plants, fava popularity is on the rise! Wonderfully nutritious and delicious, they can be found in everything from elegant to rustic seasonal preparations on the tables of food lovers everywhere. Fall planted, they are one of the culinary harbingers of the spring harvest season, beginning to mature in mid-May, and are excellent in dips, stews, braises, on the grill... Spring plant in March-April for July harvest. Plants grow to about 30”+ and are heavy yielding, though the beans take some time to size up even once the pods are full size. Harvest as fresh shelly until the leaves just start to yellow. For dry beans, pods or whole plants can be pulled for further drying once leaves have browned and fallen off. While a bit of a labor of love to prepare, most will agree they are certainly worth the effort. Also, fava greens! I don't know how we have only now just discovered that they are delicious, tasting like a cross between spinach and pea shoots. Pick them young (the top 4-5") and add to salads, scrambled eggs, soups, quiche, pesto...And please remember the captivating, thick and buttery edible flowers. On top of all this favas are of course a wonderful cover crop. There are so many reasons to love them. Aquadulce produces huge yields of uniformly long pods and large beans.
80 days. UO

Packet: 20-25 seeds

[split]

Growing Info

SOWING:

Spring sow for mid-summer harvest.

Fall sow (Sept-Oct) for spring harvest.

Note: Fava beans prefer well-drained soil, cooler temps (below 75F), and are frost hardy.

PLANTING DEPTH:

1-2"

SPACING:

3 seeds per linear foot in rows 12-18" apart.

EMERGENCE:

10-15 days @ soil temp 50-70F

LIGHT:

Full sun to part shade

FERTILITY:

Low to average. Fava beans prefer well-drained soil with a pH between 6.0-6.5.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

To increase yields in areas where beans have not previously been grown, use an inoculant to introduce rhizobia bacteria into the soil.

Extreme heat is not preferred and will negatively affect flowering and pod set.

Stake or trellis for best results.

Harvest at shelly stage when beans swell in the green pods or let dry in pods.

Fava, 'Aquadulce'