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B
road beans go berserk in winter.
They are a classic cool-season
crop. Along with cabbage, broccoli
and caulifl ower, the broad bean
( Vicia faba), also called fava bean, helps
to set the scene in the winter patch.
I really like the bold visual impact these
beans create with their thick, bushy, upright
stems lined up in double rows, and when
they fl ower, the crop buzzes with bees
showing off their pollinating prowess. And,
of course, eating freshly picked homegrown
broad beans, especially when they’re picked
young, is one of the season’s true delights.
It’s not cool enough to grow them in the
tropics, but if you are anywhere south of
Brisbane, now is a good time to get a crop
in the ground – and they’re easy to grow.getting started
There are lots of broad bean varieties, in
a range of sizes. Most grow to 1m tall or
more, and need supporting. You’ll fi nd a
few dwarf varieties under 1m, and these
crop early, producing lots of small pods.
The tall types are classifi ed as long or
short pods. The long pods are the tougher
of the two; in cool areas they are best for
early season planting as they cope better
with harsh winter conditions. Short pods
mature later and are best sown in late
winter and early spring in cool zones.
They are worth the wait, as the seeds are
generally bigger with an excellent fl avour.
Gardeners in cooler southern areas can
sow from autumn to early spring, but in
northern zones it’s early season sowing
only (May to June) for a late winter and
early spring harvest, as plants fail to form
pods in rapidly rising spring temperatures.
Choose a spot in full sun where there
is protection from the wind – tall broad
bean plants are particularly prone
to wind damage. The soil must be
well-drained, so mound it if yours
is a bit heavy. Broad beans aren’t
particularly greedy, so if you are
planting in a spot where you’ve
just grown a well-fed crop, such
as tomato or corn, you won’t
need to add much to the soil
other than some potash. If it’s
a new bed then by all means,