Fava Bean Care
Vicia faba
A hardy legume sown in autumn and harvested in spring. It adds nitrogen to the soil and is a good preceding crop for vegetables sown afterward.
Monthly care calendar
Timings are for a temperate Northern Hemisphere climate. In warmer areas tasks start earlier, in colder areas later; in the Southern Hemisphere shift them by six months.
- Watering: In the cool season, rainfall is often enough; during a long dry spell, water every 10-15 days just enough to keep the soil moist.
- Watering: In the cool season, rainfall is often enough; during a long dry spell, water every 10-15 days just enough to keep the soil moist.
- Watering: In the cool season, rainfall is often enough; during a long dry spell, water every 10-15 days just enough to keep the soil moist.
- Plant protection: If symptoms spread and treatment is needed, consult a licensed plant-protection supplier or an agronomist. Plant protection products are regulated; follow local rules.
- General care: Support tall plants against the wind with a string stretched along the row.
- Pests & diseases: Look for dense colonies of black aphids (black bean aphid) on the shoot tips; if there are only a few, pinching off the tips is often enough.
- Pests & diseases: If you see red-brown spots on the leaves (chocolate spot), thin out crowded plants; the disease spreads in humid, poorly ventilated conditions.
- Watering: If there is no rain, water every 7-10 days.
- Pruning: Once the first pods have set, pinch off the top 10 cm of the plant; this removes the tender tips where black aphids settle and speeds up the filling of the pods.
- Plant protection: If symptoms spread and treatment is needed, consult a licensed plant-protection supplier or an agronomist. Plant protection products are regulated; follow local rules.
- General care: Harvest: For fresh broad beans, pick the pods while plump and green; for shelled beans, pick when the beans are prominent; for dry beans, pick when the pods have turned black and dry.
- Pests & diseases: Look for dense colonies of black aphids (black bean aphid) on the shoot tips; if there are only a few, pinching off the tips is often enough.
- Pests & diseases: If you see red-brown spots on the leaves (chocolate spot), thin out crowded plants; the disease spreads in humid, poorly ventilated conditions.
- Watering: If there is no rain, water every 7-10 days.
- Plant protection: If symptoms spread and treatment is needed, consult a licensed plant-protection supplier or an agronomist. Plant protection products are regulated; follow local rules.
- General care: Harvest: For fresh broad beans, pick the pods while plump and green; for shelled beans, pick when the beans are prominent; for dry beans, pick when the pods have turned black and dry.
- Pests & diseases: Look for dense colonies of black aphids (black bean aphid) on the shoot tips; if there are only a few, pinching off the tips is often enough.
- Watering: If there is no rain, water every 7-10 days.
- Fertilizing: Fava bean fixes its own nitrogen; compost alone before sowing is enough.
- General care: Sow the seeds directly 5 cm deep, 50 cm between rows and 15-20 cm within the row.
- Watering: In the cool season, rainfall is often enough; during a long dry spell, water every 10-15 days just enough to keep the soil moist.
- General care: Sow the seeds directly 5 cm deep, 50 cm between rows and 15-20 cm within the row.
- Watering: In the cool season, rainfall is often enough; during a long dry spell, water every 10-15 days just enough to keep the soil moist.
The care advice on this page is general and for information only; it is not professional advice. Plant age, soil and your garden’s microclimate can change the outcome. Plant protection products are mentioned only as general information; they are regulated, and the choice, dose and timing must be decided by a qualified professional under local rules. Consult a landscape architect or agronomist before applying.
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