PlantFiles: Broad Bean, Fava Bean
Vicia faba 'Broad Windsor'

These make a great winter crop, planted in November and harvested in March-April in areas where the temperature won't go below 12 degrees F. Builds the soil and tasty protein in pastas, soups, stir-fries etc. It is no work at all to grow them, but prepping them for cooking is a pain. First you remove them from the pods, then boil for 1 minute, let cool and remove the outer white coat. Eat the inner green part. Harvest is twice a week for about 5 weeks. Mine were attacked by black aphids this year, but I am just letting it be since the plants seem to be a breeding ground for ladybugs and other aphid predators, and the plants still produce. Also lots of people use these as green manure to build the soil even more, just chop them back when about 10" high into the soil and wait a while to plant anything else there.

Wonderful bean to grow! Can be sown just before Fall (easily winters over in my Zone 7) or in early Spring.

Fall sown crops are not usually affected by many pests. Spring sown crops may get aphids and/or black fly. (Black fly tends to congregate at the very tops of the plants and can be easily removed by topping the plant.) (By the way, rinse the black fly off the part you topped and serve the plant in a light stir-fry!)