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Old March 12, 2012   #25
Tracydr
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7
Posts: 3,207
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RayR View Post
Here Naysen, I found a link to an article that illustrates what effect Fava has on the soil. Of course this shows how Fava can be used interplanted with corn in alkaline soils to improve nutrient uptake in the corn plants, but you can see how acid the exudes are from Fava roots. The experts say Fava yields best in slightly acidic soil, near neutral, which works fine up here since our native soils are typically PH 6.5-7.3 and they buffer extra acidity pretty well. That's not to say Fava won't grow in more acid soils, but I suspect that the yield of beans would much less.

Fava is pretty much like peas, it likes cool to moderate temperatures, once it gets into those sweltering hot days in the 80's and up, it wants to go to seed and die.
I keep meaning to plant favas as a cover crop in the fall and havent gotten to it. This year I'm making it a priority, as I have more beds and don't need all my beds for a winter garden. This is very interesting about the pH effects, since I'm always fighting a high pH.
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