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 7a 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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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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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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03 Jul 10, Margaret (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
When you pick out the tops, don't throw them in the compost, they are lovely chopped up and put in with your stir fry vegetables.
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01 Jul 10, Margaret (Australia - temperate climate)
My broad bean plants look healthy and come into flower but the beans aren't setting. There are lots of bees around so I am assuming it is not a pollination problem. Has anyone come across this before? Margaret
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03 Jul 10, Fiona (Australia - temperate climate)
I had the same problem last year. Turns out I sowed them too early. Don't worry though, they will start to set when the weather is right. We still had a really good crop in the end :-)
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18 Jun 10, JC (Australia - temperate climate)
What do you mean by pick the tops out?
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19 Jun 10, (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
It means to pick off the top-most shoots so the plant stops growing upwards.
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11 Jun 10, John Woodward (Australia - temperate climate)
I also have broadbeans with curled leaves cannot find anything causing it. Seem to be growing OK but I don't know how they will go come time to flower.
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Showing 201 - 210 of 268 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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