Thanks for the link to recipes Shrinkrap

Fava Sprouted
 

I had good luck with the germination, despite having done everything that you aren't supposed to do.

First I soaked the beans in water for 2 full days, maybe a bit more.
I planted half in Wonder Soil and half in Miracle Grow.

Then I put them on the heat mat for 2 days at 85 degrees with my peppers.

The weather was mild so I them them outside and left them overnight twice even though it was close to 32 degrees.

I had a spot under the grow light so I left them there for 24 hours with a tray of broccoli while the other seedlings went to bed.

All I saw was a tiny bit of growth, but in the past few days they sprung up. Now they are leafing out.

I may go ahead and plant 3 or 4 in a raised bed out back. I can cover it with a bucket if we get snow next week. I have no idea what to do from here ... They look so nice I don't want to mess those green babies up!

I forgot to add that I planted some flat and some on their side, as I later read sideways an inch below the surface was the proper technique. I don't see how it made a difference. One has a root coming out the bottom already.

How are you favas doing now, Lisa?

I found a bag of huge fava dry beans in a grocery store ( Canadian Superstore), a 2-pound bag for about $5. The beans are at least 1" long, tan colored. They are labelled as "large fava beans", from Australia. The long dark marking on middle of the their sides make them look like mini hamburgers.
I soaked some then rinsed them daily, and most of them sprouted nicely in 3-5 days. I planted 40 of the best ones in the garden yesterday. No idea if they will make it here. We don't have hot summers. I will plant more in the fall if they do well.
I've never had any fresh favas in my life, we usually have mature beans for snacks, deep fried and salted, like with peanuts.

Mini hamburgers, funny, well I know what you mean, they are weird looking. What is your ground and day/night temps like? Good to know 2lbs is $5 and they sprouted. My seed package was more like a dollar an ounce, and you get the benefit of eating them right away. Are you going to try the remaining beans you bought at the grocery fried? I've never done that.

Well...back to me. I finally planted half of them yesterday. They are about a foot tall in their little peat pots. I bet in the ground they would be three feet by now. I just didn't have the bed weeded yet.

We are in for a frost tonight, with decent weather after that. The rest will go in tomorrow. I wonder how much cold they can take. I'll know very soon.

- Lisa

After reading this thread, now I want to try growing favas and I can't find seed. I think I will try our local health food co-op store. They sell all kinds of grains and legumes. The pics of your plants are pretty. I had no idea.

[QUOTE=MuddyToes;633048]After reading this thread, now I want to try growing favas and I can't find seed.[/QUOTE]
If all else fails [url]http://www.sampleseeds.com/?page_id=3725[/url]
I just planted mine directly in the garden a couple weeks ago with no soaking etc, Have good germination & they are about 4" high. I'm in central IL so it is still mostly cool weather.

[QUOTE=mcool61;633061]If all else fails [url]http://www.sampleseeds.com/?page_id=3725[/url]
I just planted mine directly in the garden a couple weeks ago with no soaking etc, Have good germination & they are about 4" high. I'm in central IL so it is still mostly cool weather.[/QUOTE]

Wow. That's amazingly fast.

I'm trying 2 kinds this spring:
- Aquadulce
- Grana Violetto Extra Precoce

Both are supposed to be early, but I soaked them and started them sprouting before I put them in the ground, and it still took weeks for them to break the surface. The Aquadulce are about 5" high right now and the Grana Violetto are about a week behind them, even though they were sown a week earlier than the Aquadulce.

They've been in the ground about a month, so maybe this just goes to show that planting when it's really cold isn't really much of a time-saver.

Almost every single one came up, though, so they do survive colder temps well. I think the ones that didn't come up were actually taken by critters, as there's a lot of digging activity in that area.

I'm impressed by how strong the plants are. They really bust through the soil on the way up. In the spots with more clay-heavy soils, sometimes they push up a big "plate" of soil as they try to get through to the surface.

I planted some Grano Violetto Extra Precoce in the ground about 3 weeks ago. We were due to have rain for three days, so I didn't soak them first for fear that they would rot. I planted peas on the same day. The peas are just poking through, but no sign of the fava's yet.

I think you have a good point about planting in the cold Gorbelly!

Linda

Linda, mine took a while to come up and I started thinking there was something wrong. Then all of a sudden, they were all popping up. Once they come up, they grow really fast. Grana Violetto is less vigorous and slower than Aquadulce. These are the only 2 varieties I have experience with, as this is my first time trying to grow favas, so I can't really comment on how they compare to favas in general.

I finally planted some this year and they've been doing great! I planted in about Nov-Dec. they handled some freezes without any issue. The two smaller varieties,aquadukce and something I don't remember are setting beans but the Windsor doesn't seem to have many,yet.
Pretty plants and also seem to be a good use of space in winter since they improve it. I also interplanted oats with them.

[QUOTE=Tracydr;633798]I finally planted some this year and they've been doing great! I planted in about Nov-Dec. they handled some freezes without any issue. The two smaller varieties,aquadukce and something I don't remember are setting beans but the Windsor doesn't seem to have many,yet.
Pretty plants and also seem to be a good use of space in winter since they improve it. I also interplanted oats with them.[/QUOTE]

I think this year, I'll try fall planting them and overwintering them. I don't think mine will produce pods in time this year, as I need that space later for summer crops.

My aquadulce:

[img]http://i.imgur.com/6JfIwGMl.jpg[/img]

Apparently they can be grown as micro greens. Some guy in UK posted a useful photo of growing a bowlful of fava shoots, to be used in salads. I heard they do well as stirfries too.

[QUOTE=NewWestGardener;633857]Apparently they can be grown as micro greens. Some guy in UK posted a useful photo of growing a bowlful of fava shoots, to be used in salads. I heard they do well as stirfries too.[/QUOTE]

You can eat the leaves and the tender tops off of full grown plants, too.

Pea shoots are great, too. As I till in the winter cover I planted last fall, I pick the tips of the winter peas and eat them as stir fry. Delicious.

However, I'd really also like to have the beans.

[QUOTE=NewWestGardener;633857]Apparently they can be grown as micro greens. Some guy in UK posted a useful photo of growing a bowlful of fava shoots, to be used in salads. I heard they do well as stirfries too.[/QUOTE]

Ok. Now you've really convinced me. I HAVE TO grow them. :cute:

Are those toilet paper rolls for sowing or to protect from some sort of critter? I do hope you get beans this year. Mine were planted just a few weeks earlier and they're only a few inches bigger. We had some warm weather and the soil temp is 56 degrees. It will no doubt go down to 50 again as its going to be cold thru next week. Aren't they a cool season crop?

[QUOTE=gorbelly;633805]I think this year, I'll try fall planting them and overwintering them. I don't think mine will produce pods in time this year, as I need that space later for summer crops.

My aquadulce:

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/6JfIwGMl.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=greenthumbomaha;634199]Are those toilet paper rolls for sowing or to protect from some sort of critter?[/quote]

Cutworm collars. The Internet told me that cutworms love favas. But now that I've seen how thick fava seedlings are even from the moment they break the surface of the soil, I think maybe the collars might not have been necessary.

[QUOTE=greenthumbomaha;634199]Mine were planted just a few weeks earlier and they're only a few inches bigger. We had some warm weather and the soil temp is 56 degrees. It will no doubt go down to 50 again as its going to be cold thru next week. Aren't they a cool season crop?[/QUOTE]

Yes, they're a cool season crop. Mine were planted pretty soon after the ground thawed from the last snowstorm that blew through here. They took a while to come up, even with the rather warm spring we'd been having (although lately it's gone back to more normal temps on the cool side).

So I'd been hoping they would do what cool weather crops do and have some pods to harvest before I absolutely have to put the summer crops in. But it really doesn't seem like that's going to happen.

This is my first year trying to have spring crops, and they're all kind of slow. My lettuce is teeny tiny still.

RE: cool season

I read that favas stop setting/flowering when temps get above 80.

I think it might have been a little ambitious of me to try to grow them here. The change in seasons is usually pretty abrupt. Temps are hitting 80 later this week, actually, with possible highs near 90 over the weekend. Although temps go back down to the high 60s after the weekend.

Maybe the mini heat wave this weekend will be good to speed up vegetative growth, and by the time flowers happen, temps will be OK for setting pods.

If no luck this year, I'll try one more time by fall planting and letting them overwinter under mulch to see whether they get going sooner that way.

My favas are flowering now. How long to get pods with edible beans?

The Extra Precoce a Grano Violetto did flower a couple days earlier than the Aquadulce, despite having come up later.

Both varieties are still under 2' tall.

First pod formation on [I]extra precoce a grano violetto[/I].

[img]http://i.imgur.com/LYuMViZl.jpg[/img]

No pods that I've seen yet on the aquadulce, although the aquadulce is flowering [I]extravagantly[/I]. The flowers are probably three times as dense on the aquadulce as on the grano violetto.

Bean aphids seem to gravitate toward the aquadulce. I haven't seen any at all really on the grano violetto. Of course, it could just be the location. The aphids aren't so bad that a few squirts of soapy water won't control them. In a couple of weeks, the insect population will really kick into gear, and there will be tons of aphid predators. I've already seen a couple of mummified parasitized aphids and a couple ladybugs.

Interestingly, my favas are blooming their heads off this year but I haven't had a single pod set. Maybe all these temp swings are to blame . . .

I have blooms too! I went out to search after reading the update. Amazing how the favas are on the same general timetable in different climates and weather conditions.

Mine haven't grown though - they are still a little over a foot. I left them in the peat pot way too long. I should have planted them as six inchers. I was lazy and busy with maters.

- Lisa

I topped my favas today. As is, sunlight still filters through, so I can plant my hot weather veg under them while I give them time to produce/mature more pods. But if they grow any more, they'll create way too much shade.

[img]http://i.imgur.com/pialQiTl.jpg[/img]

This is an interesting subject. I am new to gardening and so far have been focused on summer crops and finding heat tolerant varieties. It has hit me lately that my winters being mild I can grow other items and Fava could do great from November to March in Houston. I am going to try it.

Oh, yeah, if I lived in your climate, I would grow cool-weather crops in the winter for sure.

Favas are tough here. Our seasonal transition tends to be rather abrupt.

I cut down the rest of my favas today, as the heat was making them look cruddy, and the newer pods were starting to shrivel and/or rot rather than mature.

I did get enough beans (I ate them at mature size but still green) to get a couple decent meals out of them (risotto, mashed favas on toast). Plus grilled fava pods with olive oil and garlic. Yum. They were really, really delicious. In addition, I hope that the plants in the beds where they grew will benefit from their soil-building activities and the "green manure" they made.

I may plant them this fall to see whether they'll overwinter until spring and get a head start. They really do mature a little too late and have pushed back my summer crops a little more that I want as a result.

Aquadulce was more productive, had larger beans, and was tastier than Extra Precoce a Grano Violetto. And it was only later by about a week and a half.

Eeeeeeek... I want to start favas now. What are the chances they will endure summer temps up into 72 F or more. hahahahaha.

Gorbelly, your photos help me to identify my grocerystore-bought-fava beans-as-seeds variety, as Grano Vialetto, exactly same flowers.
For those who want to try a generous seed source, I bought mine in Canadian Superstore, "extra large fava" from Australia. Excellent germination. They are blooming Now, planted in the shade, otherwise they could be earlier.

I think most fava varieties have the same kind of flowers. Aquadulce and Grano Violetto both had identical looking flowers for me.

I can't imagine many people are using Grano Violetto for commercial growing of favas. It's not very productive, and the beans are smaller than average for a fava.

[QUOTE=PhilaGardener;641291]Interestingly, my favas are blooming their heads off this year but I haven't had a single pod set. Maybe all these temp swings are to blame . . .[/QUOTE]

I have the same problem here in central IL. Got off to a good start, then nothing.

My fava's are almost ready to pick. I grew the Grano Violetto (seeds of which came from Remi's Sample Seed Shop). They all germinated and look good and healthy. Can't wait to taste them!

Linda

My aquadulce tasted better than the grano violetto.

I'm such a huge convert to green favas, even though they're a little work.

The pods are great, too. I boiled them in salt water, then grilled them and tossed them in a garlic vinaigrette. Great on toast, chopped up in a pasta salad. It really seemed like a shame to get such a small edible portion from all those favas, so I was thrilled to find recipes for the pods.

Next year, I'm trying Broad Windsor.