How to Grow Fava Beans: 8 Tips for Growing Fava Beans

Fava beans (vicia faba), also known as broad beans, are mild-tasting legumes that grow in green bean pods which are harvested in the spring from flowering pea plants. These large beans can be prepared fresh, cooked, or dried, and are often used in salads, stir-fries, and stews. Fava beans have a light, buttery, and slightly bitter taste. When cooked, they have a grainy and tender texture similar to chickpeas.

Fava beans are one of the world’s oldest cultivated crops. They were eaten by the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians. They are also a natural source of protein, fiber, potassium, and magnesium, vitamin c, zinc, copper, and calcium. They are a high-folate food with 177 micrograms of folate—which aids in new blood cell production and cell function—in one cup of beans.

Here is an overview of the common types of fava beans that growers choose to plant.

1. 1. Broad Windsor: The most common variety of fava beans is the Broad Windsor bean. It is an easily pollinated fava bean meaning its seeds can be dried and stored to plant in the next season.
2. 2. Aquadulce Claudia: This large Spanish bean is highly resistant to cold weather and recommended for fall and winter sowing.
3. 3. The Sutton: Also called the Dwarf Fava Bean, or Bush Beans, this variety grows to about two feet tall and is ideal for smaller gardens.
4. 4. Sweet Lorane: Sweet Lorane is a small-seeded fava plant bred to contain fewer tannins which are responsible for the bitter, astringent taste in some plants.

It’s best to plant fava beans in the early spring after the last frost has reliably passed. They do well in cool climates and grow most reliably in USDA hardiness zones between three and 11, but are not resistant to high heat. Pick a growing area that exposes your fava plants to full sun, but shelters them from strong winds. You can also plant fava beans in the fall if you live in a mild winter climate for an early spring harvest.

Harvest fava beans in the season after the one that they germinate during. If you’re planting your seeds in the early spring, you will harvest your fava beans in the summer. Mature beans will grow to a length between six and eight inches in length. Feel the bean pods when you think they’re ready to harvest, and if they feel full they’re ready to pick. If they’re spongy, they will need another two weeks to mature.

Here is an overview of how to grow fava beans.

1. 1. Purchase fava bean seeds. To grow fava beans, all you need to do is to plant a fava bean in the ground and germinate it. You can purchase seeds at nurseries, or simply buy fava beans at the grocery store.
2. 2. Prepare your soil. The recommended soil pH for broad beans ranges from 6.0 to 6.5. Use sulfur to lower your soil’s pH and add limestone to raise it. Loosen the soil to make sure that it drains well to avoid pooling and root rot.
3. 3. Pick a location to plant. Plant your beans in a place with full sun and partial shade. Keep in mind that fava bean plants don’t tolerate extreme heat.
4. 4. Prepare your seeds. You can sow your seeds directly in the ground without preparing them, but soaking them in water for an hour before you plant them can speed up germination.
5. 5. Plant your seeds. Dig a hole for your seeds that is about two inches deep with about six inches of spacing in between the plants if you’re growing multiple in the same bed. Plant your seeds in the two inch-deep holes.
6. 6. Water your seeds. Water your seed right after you plant it and continue to keep the ground moist but not oversaturated with water. The seeds should germinate in about 10 to 14 days.
7. 7. Protect your plant. Protect your plant from pests like aphids and black flies when the season gets warm. To do that, you can pinch off the fuzzy, top growth of the plant which these pests prefer. Apply a layer of organic mulch or straw to help suppress weeds. Many gardeners will also choose to “infect” their plants with a bacteria called Rhizobium, which will act as an inoculant against plant disease.
8. 8. Harvest your beans. Fava beans will take about three months to mature if you plant them in the early spring, and about eight months to mature if they’re planted in early fall. Feel the pods, and if they feel completely full and do not bounce back when you squeeze them, they are ready to harvest. To harvest, cut all the green pods off of your plant. If you want to use some of your pods for seed stock, you can leave them to dry on the stalk and harvest whenever you like.

Once they are processed and prepared, your fava beans are ready to eat. Here is how to prepare and store your fava beans to be eaten or used in cooking.

1. 1. Open your pods. Start shelling your bean pods by snapping off the top of your pod and “unzipping” them by pulling down the seam. This will expose the fresh beans, and there will be about four to five in each pod.
2. 2. Blanch the beans. Remove your beans from the pod and bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add your beans and allow them to boil for about thirty seconds.
3. 3. Shock your beans. Drain and place your beans and put them in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.
4. 4. Remove the skin. Now that your beans are cooked, remove the thick skin surrounding the beans by squeezing each one and popping the bright green bean out. Fresh, raw beans can be kept in the refrigerator for two days max.
   
5. 5. Freeze your beans. If you do not plan on using the beans immediately, store in the freezer in an airtight container. When you are ready to cook, simply thaw your shelled beans and add to your favorite dish.
6. 6. Bag your dried beans. Dry beans have a shelf life of about two to three years. In order to dry them out, all you need to do is pick the beans from the stalk once they have dried and their shells have become dark.

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