Monday, March 7, 2011

Why I love Fava Beans




If I said potatoes were the easiest vegetables to grow, I misspoke--fava beans have got to be the easiest edible plant to grow. Or at least in the top ten. That's not the only reason why I love them. The other reasons are: they don't need to be staked, they like cold weather and aren't bothered by even a hard frost, they are beautiful plants with sweet smelling flowers which honeybees like, the leaves are edible raw in salads, the roots fix nitrogen in the soil--so growing them can improve your soil, and the beans are tasty. I also read that they can be used as a treatment for parkinson's disease--they have some chemical that is helpful, but check with your doctor before you try it.

The only downside to fava beans that I can see is that you have to peel the larger beans twice, which is a lot of work. But, you can eat the smaller beans pod and all, and I have made great stew with them--just add a little beef.

March is not the right time to plant fava beans in our zone (9b), because they don't like hot weather, it seems. But they would be a great thing to plant now in colder climates. Here, I plant them in the fall, and they grow all winter, where we get lows in the 30's. Now is the time of year when they are tall, flowering, beginning to produce beans.

I like to eat them, but I also grow them as a cover crop to improve the soil. If you grew them as a cover crop, now is the time to turn them under and mulch them. More about that another time.

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