How to Grow Broad Beans or Fava Beans

Broad beans, often called Fava beans, are less often seen in the vegetable garden than the typical string beans. This great bean offers not only excellent additions to the dinner table but is easy to grow and decorative enough to use as a border around the vegetable garden. Here is a little information about the broad bean or fava bean and how to grow it.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. 
    
   Broad beans or fava beans

   Fava beans are often used in Italian dishes and referred to as ‘fagioli’. They are large beans with buttery, meaty textures. Some few people can be allergic to them and others can find raw beans will irritate their stomachs. But most people find broad beans to be rich, tasty vegetables that have a high nutrition value.

2. Unlike most beans, these plants prefer to grow during cooler seasons. If you live where there are no hard frosts, they can be planted in the fall. Otherwise, plant them early in the spring. They are not usually sold as plants but are easily grown from seed.

3. 
    
   The flower of the broad bean

   Grow fava beans in rich soil in the vegetable garden. They will form small shrubs to about 18” tall. The flowers are formed in masses and are very decorative. They grow in clusters of white flowers, each flower having a big black blotch on the lower petal. These unique black and white flowers are pollinated to become big, fat, cylindrical pods cushioning three to six beans inside. The beans will be ready to harvest when the pods swell.

4. 
    
   Flowering fava bean

   Water broad beans or fava beans regularly and give them full sun. You can even grow them interspersed in the flower garden since they are quite decorative. They don’t attract a lot of pests and are not as fussy as many vegetables. So, if you are interested in growing a more unusual bean that requires little attention, try growing the broad bean.

Resources

• Landscape design and gardening information

[only1tonky]

on 6/13/2009 on my broad bean plants should there be a bean pod left when each flower drops off?

[sonni57]

on 5/6/2009 Thanks for the good directions on growing fava beans I don't have a green thumb and need all the help I can get.