How to Grow Fava Beans

When to Start: early spring (in USDA Zones 9 and warmer, plant in fall)
At Their Best: early summer
Time to Complete: 30 minutes for sowing

Materials Needed:

• fava bean seeds (also called broad beans)
• dibber
• wooden pegs

• string
• garden stakes

Sow Seed

Peg out a length of string and make holes along its length, 1 to 2 inches deep, 4 to 6 inches apart, and drop a single seed into the base of each one. Mark out and sow successive rows at 12-inch intervals. Refill the holes with soil and water the seeds in well.

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Support Plants

Fava beans can grow up to 4 feet tall and become heavily laden with pods, which can cause the plants to collapse. To prevent this, support the plants by using garden stakes and string to make an open frame around them, particularly in windy areas.

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Pinch Out Growing Tips

To reduce the risk of aphid damage, snap off the soft tips of the bean plants once they have started to produce pods.

Enlarge Photo+Shrink Photo-DK - How to Grow Practically Everything © 2010 Dorling Kindersley Limited