Quality seeds for kitchen, cottage and native gardeners
Vegetable Seeds Catalogue
Broad Bean
Bean, Broad (Vicia faba)
Sds/g: 1 Feed Requirements: Low
Planting & Harvesting Guide:
Cultural Notes:
- Also known as Faba or fava beans. They are frost hardy to about -5 oC but do not like hot weather. Broad beans may be sown mid to late autumn and overwintered to provide food in early spring, 3-4 weeks before seed sown in spring. Sow seed 3-5 cm deep 20-30 cm (spring sown) to 30-40 cm (autumn/winter sown) apart in rows 60-70 cm apart. Provided there is moisture in the soil irrigation is not recommended until about 2 weeks after planting as too much water at seeding slows growth and may increase root rots. Some varieties are also grown for forage and as a green-manure or cover crop.
Problems:
- Poorly drained soils and extended bad weather can cause black spots on the leaves and even plants to die.
Harvest:
- Immature beans can be eaten pods and all, the mature beans should be podded and eaten in stews, soups, boiled or roasted for a snack food. Once they start to become too firm and starchy it is best to leave them on the plant a bit longer then picked and left to dry, which can be added to soups, ground to a flour and used for falafel or saved for seed stock.
Sowing periods
An heirloom variety that is an early producer of nutty flavoured broad beans. Produces large amounts of medium green pods that are about 15cm long and containing around 5 seeds each. Grows to about 1m so is great for windy areas. One of the earliest crops to mature in cool climates. Fixes nitrogen in soil. 1 Packet = 40 seeds.
This old English variety has very attractive, scarlet purple bean seeds and green bean pods on 1m tall stems with white flowers. Very young pods can be eaten whole (cooked) or later during summer the medium sized bean inside can be cooked. Broad Beans are one of the earliest crops to mature in cool, temperate climates. 15 seeds. Not to WA.
A heavy cropping, full-flavoured, hardy broad bean with medium-sized pods. Growing to 80 cm high, it is less susceptible to wind damage than most beans. Young green pods can be eaten whole and later in summer the bean inside can be cooked. One of the earliest crops to mature in cool climates, sow after harvesting brassica or root crops. 1 Packet = 40 seeds.
This very unusual, crimson flowering bean is a highly decorative plant blooming for many weeks in spring. In early summer the 1m tall stems have many green pods with light green beans inside. Very young green pods can be eaten whole (cooked) or later during summer the medium sized bean inside can be cooked. Broad Beans are one of the earliest crops to mature in cool, temperate climates. 12 seeds. Not to WA.