Growing Fava Beans in Upstate NY, Part 1

When we lived in Ireland we learned how to grow broad beans, or what we in America call by the Italian name 'fava beans'. Favas are completely different from the edible-pod green beans we grow in the garden in summer. Fava plants get to over 3 feet tall and produce long pods with 6-10 widely-spaced beans. In mild winter climates like Ireland, England or northern California, favas are planted outside in the fall and make beans in the spring and early summer.

 The pods are not edible so you shell out the fresh beans, leaving behind a big pile of pods, then cook them lightly in a stir fry or pasta sauce. They also make an awesome bright green, hummus-like dip. Favas have a sublime flavor that is not like any other bean and they also freeze well. We always had lots in the garden and freezer when we lived in Ireland and we really appreciated having something different to eat with the usual spring crops.

Big, bushy fava bean plants

When we moved back to America last fall I wanted to see if it's possible to grow favas successfully in upstate NY. They prefer cool weather and won't make beans if the temperature goes above 80F. This means that planting them when the ground thaws in late March or early April is likely to result in no beans since it often starts getting hot in June. I know a local market grower who said he tried for a couple of years and never got any harvest due to hot weather in early summer so he gave up.

I decided to try planting favas in the fall, both outside and in our greenhouse, to see if I would have better success. I ordered seeds for four varieties: Banner, said to be hardy to 15F; Dreadnought, an old heirloom variety; Aquadulce, an Italian variety; and Crimson-Flowered, a highly-ornamental variety with deep red flowers.

Fava bean seedlings in the winter greenhouse

I sowed seeds in cell packs in our greenhouse in late November. (We have a 'solar greenhouse' that only goes a few degrees below freezing no matter how bitterly cold it is outside.) By early January I had stout little seedlings growing in small pots. I also planted six plants of each variety outside in December and mulched the plants with fall leaves. These outside plants were mostly covered with snow for the winter so I couldn't see if they were still alive.

 Fava bean plants are under the snow there somewhere!

In March two warm days melted the snow in the garden and I could finally inspect the outside plants - the hardier Banner plants were alive but still small; all the other varieties were gone or with black mushy stems.

 Banner seedlings survived the winter outside under snow cover but froze in March. 

A return to very cold nights with no snow cover in March finished off the remaining Banner plants in the garden.

Meanwhile, the greenhouse plants were growing fast and in February had to be transplanted into big one-gallon pots. In March they started setting flower buds and by the March 20, the first day of spring, Dreadnought and Crimson flowers are opening.

Fava bean plants in one gallon pots in the greenhousestarting to flower

 'Dreadnought' broad bean flowers

 Crimson-Flowered Broad Bean - Pretty enough to plant as an ornamental

Now the dilemma: It's getting hot in the greenhouse, maybe too hot for the flowers to make beans. At the same time, spring is late this year with night temperatures still in the 20's so I can't plant them outside yet. I'm going to move the potted plants onto our covered porch to harden them off, then once the night temperatures settle a bit I will move them into the garden, keeping some row cover handy to cover them up if it gets much below freezing.

I'm feeling hopeful about getting a harvest this spring, but I'm also trying not to count my fava beans before they are podded!

(Go to Growing Fava Beans in Upstate NY, Part 2)