Growing Fava Beans in Upstate NY, Part 2

When I last blogged about my fava bean experiment at the end of March, the plants in the greenhouse looked happy and healthy, like this:

My dilemma was that the greenhouse was starting to hit pretty high temps on sunny days, and fava flowers won't make bean pods if they are exposed to warm temperatures (above 80 F). I had to get the plants out of the warm greenhouse and take a chance on planting them outside.  Palm Sunday (March 24) was sunny and in the 50's. I planted some of each variety in the garden and put the rest outside on an open porch to harden off. 

The following week the temperature plummeted, and on Good Friday (March 29) it went down to 20 F, even though it was only predicted to go to 25 F. The next day the plants that were in pots on the porch looked like this:

The were severely  wilted but not completely turned to mush, so it seemed that there was hope for them. The plants outside had some protection from the earth's warmth and looked only slightly better. 

I brought the potted plants inside and watered them well,and covered the outside plants with a sheet to protect them from more cold damage.

 By two days later, on Easter Sunday (March 31) the plants were resurrected! This is how they looked - still lax but definitely not frozen. Even the flower buds survived the extreme cold!

 I trimmed off any parts that didn't come back to life, planted the potted plants and staked them all to help them stand up.

 For the next few weeks after being frozen, the plants continued to flower but no pods were forming. I started to worry that either the heat in the greenhouse, or the extreme cold, had rendered the flowers sterile. Then this week, finally the sight I have been waiting for:

 Baby fava beans forming on the plants!

Notice how the pods form upward on the plant instead of down like other species of beans. These pods will get very large, 8 to 12 inches long, and when the beans inside are ready the pods turn in a downward direction and they are twisted off. 

So why am I going to all this trouble? Fava beans have an indescribable flavor that is unlike bush beans or runner beans. It's as distinctive as asparagus......I'm not saying they taste like asparagus but that they have a unique flavor that somehow captures the essence of spring and are a quintessential spring treat.

I learned two important things from this experiment: 

1. Wait until February to sow the beans in a greenhouse so that the flowering is delayed until April when it's safer to plant them outside. I sowed these beans in November and then they started flowering in the greenhouse in March, just when the greenhouse was really heating up during the day. The flowers abort if they are exposed to prolonged heat (over 80F). 

2. The plants can be exposed to very cold temperatures and still survive. I knew that 'Banner' was rated to be hardy to 15F, but all four varieties (+ Dreadnought, Aqua Dulce and Crimson Flowered) survived several nights in the low 20's. This means they would be fine planted outside in April even though there can be many nights below freezing then. Of course, covering them with row cover or sheets would also be a good idea, but for this experiment I was curious to see how they would do with no protection whatsoever.

Now it remains to be seen how many pods we will actually harvest after all this! The plants are only 18" or so tall - quite puny compared to the big healthy plants (3-4') we could grow in the mild winter climate of County Clare, Ireland. Maybe next year with later sowing and transplanting dates..............