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  • From: Alliums <garlicgrower AT earthlink.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Market-farming] Fava Beans
  • Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2003 13:49:08 -0500

Hi, Folks!

Personally, I love fava beans, but you need to know what your market is before deciding which to grow. There are large-seeded favas (used in England and Italy) and small seeded favas (used in the Middle East). Some of the small-seeded favas are also cut for greens to make a dish similar to pesto that is eaten during Lent in Mediterranean cultures.

None of the favas that I've grown have needed support, but they are planted about the same time as peas and if you don't have a good beneficial insect population, you can get little black fava aphids that will devour your plants even if you never had fava aphids before. So, it's good to do a trial crop and see if fava aphids are going to be a problem.

At the very least, favas will break up clay soil, so you can plant your trial beans in a not-so-great area of soil and have the soil better for having the favas there. I am consoling myself with the "soil conditioning" aspect as I received some Cyperiot fava beans this fall which appear not to be as cold tolerant as others I have grown (ie., no crops and dead plants with the snow! :-()

I'll be growing GIANT ISRAELI favas this spring -- if you pick the beans when they are young and leave the skins on the individual beans (supposedly, this is done in the Pugli region of Italy), they are not as difficult to prepare for a meal.


Dorene Pasekoff, Coordinator
St. John's United Church of Christ Organic Community Garden

A mission of
St. John's United Church of Christ, 315 Gay Street, Phoenixville, PA 19460





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