Fava Beans?

[nuts]

I planted favabeans in several times from september to december.
I have two varieties one with smaller pods,that stay erected and smaller beans and another(from the supermarked),more productive with bigger plants(up to one meter) bigger pods that are hanging and bigger beans.Sorry,I don't have names.

The ones planted in september started blooming excessively and no one survived the winter.
The ones planted 2th half october to december had a survival rate of maybe 50%,
All of them died above the ground but started new growth at the end of february.
The winter was rather harsh(several frost periods) with minimum of about -5°C,that's 23°F.

Some died because of some kind of rot.

I didn't notice any significant difference between the two varieties.concerning cold resistance.I spreaded some hay between the plants end of december.
The soil conditions were probably not really homogeous and I don't know a clue about inocculant.

This autumn I'll start the experiment over with the harvested beans.Maybe I'll add more origins,specially if I can get hold of beans reputated resistent to cold.

Michel,tu veut pas me vendre quelques "La petit e gourgane du Lac St Jean"?

cheers,
nuts

[sealander]

Here in New Zealand we call 'em broad beans. I plant them mid-Fall, and they overwinter, they don't mind frosts and can survive a bit of snow - main problem with the snow is that if they have gotten too tall the snow load will break the plants, so you want them to stay fairly short over the winter and then start shooting up in spring. I'm trialling a rare crimson flowered variety (very pretty color) this year which is much shorter than the common varieties I usually grow and it will be interesting to see what it tastes like (I was bulking up the seed last year so didn't have enough to eat as well). They are a good vegetable for filling that gap in mid Spring when not much else is ready.

Once I'm done harvesting the beans the chickens like to eat the plants

[nuts]

We had a cold period from 15 to 21dec.
Temps dropped to -9°C,16°F mini,with snow,but now it's above 0 again.

Very few plants looked like this

Attachments:

[nuts]

beans sowed half oct

Attachments:

[nuts]

those sowed half november look like this.(see attachment).

Sorry for the multiple posting,only one attachment per posting is the only thing that works for me for posting pics.My browser is probably a bit old.

Attachments:

[extremegardener]

Aug 18, 2008 18:06:11 GMT -5 canadamike said:

I have seeds of " la petite gourgane du Lac St-Jean" or once translated, the small fava bean of Lake St-John. It HAS to be one of the toughest. ..

Wow, Michel, somehow I missed this post. I received a fava bean about 20 years ago from a woman whose family was from Quebec (don't know where). I call it Bergeron, which was her maiden name. They would roast them and use them as a coffee substitute when times were hard, and they called them "monkey beans." Anyhow, I hadn't heard anything about fava beans in Quebec other than these... Trade?
Also, I have regular dry beans called Quebec Coffee - pea beans, white with a brown hilium, which has led me to speculate about what Quebecois drink for coffee... Anybody know anything about this?

[seedywen]

Understand that fava bean flowers are more 'open' like the Scarlet Runners and more prone to cross-pollinating than other varieties of beans.

How far apart, do you recommend planting favas if you are trying to keep seed from different varieties?

[mortality]

According to www.realseeds.co.uk/beans.html Broad Beans need half a mile distance.

I am going to be growing a variety called 'Karmazyn' the beans unusually for broad beans are pink.

[robertb]

Half a mile will be the distance for field cultivation. On a garden scale, you'll get away with a lot less. I'm sure I read in one of the books on Heligan Gardens in Cornwall that they grow several, and just keep them well apart and rogue out any obvious crosses. In a single garden, it's best to stagger planting times so varieties you're saving seed from don't all flower at once. If you find they're crossbreeding with a neighbour's beans, that's the time to start thinking about isolation.

[extremegardener]

Maybe I missed it in this thread if someone else mentioned this, but, unlike regular beans, favas want to be WET.
Mine struggled for years because I put them in what would be prime real estate for regular beans, phaseolus vulgaris - well drained and sunny. When I put the favas in one of my "worst" beds - heavy clay loam almost in the swamp - they thrived. They love having cool wet feet.

[robertb]

Not too wet though. My allotment gets waterlogged, particularly in winter, and I lose overwintering beans due to that. But I agree they don't like drought.

[cortona]

we grown favabean storicaly in my region and we plant it in late october and it overwinter nicely, the only problem can be the late frost bite!
we plant aguadulce claudia to but i'm actively looking for some heirloom variety .... not so much hope about this because nobady around save seeds...let's see if i can do another discovery!
about eathing the beans the best way here is fresh pecorino chese and pork shoulder! soooo good!

[robertb]

I don't know why people don't save seeds; it's not that hard. Aquadulce claudia is about the hardiest; mine were eaten by mice in the very cold weather. Where are you? You could try here: www.mammothonion.co.uk/shop/7/index.htm , here: www.chilternseeds.co.uk/chilternseeds/default , or here: www.plantsofdistinction.co.uk/acatalog/A-Z_of_Vegetables_BROAD_BEAN.html .

[canadamike]

Non nuts, je refuse complètement de t'en vendre. Par contre, je peux bien t'en donner

J'ai donné mon demi kilo à Johno l'an dernier, je n'en ai plus, mais j'en attends directement du Lac St-Jean, peut être même un très gros sac, ce qui me permettra d'en envoyer en Afrique. Mais il sont encore dans la neige là-bas, c'est la région agricole la plus nordique de l'est de l'Amérique du Nord...le producteur de semences n'a surement pas ouvert la ferme à la distribution, qui est essentiellement très locale.

Cela ne dépends pas de moi. Quand je recevrai je te ferai signe...
dis, dans ton coin, tu peux me trouver des aulx créoles, et surtout de l'ail rose de Lautrec?

[hiven]

I am growing 2 types of broadbeans this year and will save seeds for both types. To prevent cross pollination, I sow them 6 weeks apart. The first sown one are around 10cm tall sedlings now and today I will be sowing another type. They will get around 45 meters of distance just incase... we have a barn and a green house in between plus some herbs and flowers that work as barrier.