I admit it – if fava beans weren’t so good for the soil, I probably wouldn’t grow them at all, edible or not. Hidden inside those long fat pods are a handful of tasty beans, but they make you work for it. Really working for it.
Shelling beans is a labor intensive process, one that should be done on a lazy Sunday around the kitchen table or on the back porch while you watch your kids play. You could even enlist your children to help you, or bribe a friend to do it with you. It is a lot of time to spend on beans.
Quick Care Guide
Growing fava beans helps improve soil and provides food. Source: luckytomato Common Name(s) Broad bean, fava bean, faba bean Scientific NameVicia faba Days to harvest 75 to 100 days Full sun to partial shade Water 1 inch per week Soil, well-drained Fertilizer Minimum, low-nitrogen, with added sulfate forms , sulfur miner, three pistachios , Mexican bean beetle, spider mites Disease Broad bean chocolate spot, rust, powdery mildew, fusarium root rot, mosaic virus
Fava or Vicia faba beans are weather loving legumes cool Also known as broad beans or faba beans, these plants are used as a cover crop to prepare a garden bed so that the soil can be worked in future growing seasons. Those who manage the fava bean harvest also have an added bonus! The ripe beans and tender green leaves of favas are great to eat.
What are Fava Beans?
Fava beans, Vicia Faba Major, or broad beans are legumes and pulses. They have long been cultivated for their beans (technically seeds) so their original habitat has been lost in the mists of time.
They have cultivated a long tradition in Europe, and elsewhere. They are believed to have become part of the eastern Mediterranean diet around 6000 BCE or even earlier.
Nitrogen fixation
Fava Beans are a member of the legume family. As with most legumes, fava beans have the ability to “fix nitrogen”. But what does that mean exactly? Well, all plants have the ability to take up nitrogen from the soil. That process is a normal and necessary part of the life cycle of plants! However, legumes do something a little extra special.
In addition to taking nitrogen from the soil, they are able to absorb and fix nitrogen from the air! They do this through a beautiful symbiotic relationship with specialized bacteria called Rhizobia. The Rhizobia bacteria colonize legume roots, form nodules, and draw in nitrogen – usually more than the plant can use for energy. Therefore, excess is left and stored in the plant material. Additional nitrogen-fixing cover crops include peas, clover, peaches, lentils, flax, alfalfa, rye, and other legumes such as soybeans.
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