I live in southwest Washington State, seacoast, USDA zone 8. This summer I
planted a dozen fava beans out of curiosity. Never grown them before, don't
recall ever seeing them before. The bush beans and pole beans are now long
gone but the favas appear to be in full stride. Each stalk has a cluster of
7 to 8 pods of all sizes tho most are the size of sausages! By feel the
beans inside are the size of grapes. How long are these things likely to
keep growing? Are they a cool season crop? They don't look like they are
ready to pick. Should I just wait until the pods turn brown and then shell
them? How to eat them will be yet another new experience.
-- Karl Warner (in a grove of pine trees, in the lee of a dune)

Hi All,
I should pick them now, if they are as big as you say it is unlikley that
they will grow any more. If you leave them for the pods to go brown, they
will only be fit plant next year. If you want to save some seed for next
year let the pods go brown and dry. Hope this helps you.

Richard M. Watkin.


"Karl Warner" wrote in message
...
I live in southwest Washington State, seacoast, USDA zone 8. This summer I
planted a dozen fava beans out of curiosity. Never grown them before, don't
recall ever seeing them before. The bush beans and pole beans are now long
gone but the favas appear to be in full stride. Each stalk has a cluster of
7 to 8 pods of all sizes tho most are the size of sausages! By feel the
beans inside are the size of grapes. How long are these things likely to
keep growing? Are they a cool season crop? They don't look like they are
ready to pick. Should I just wait until the pods turn brown and then shell
them? How to eat them will be yet another new experience.
-- Karl Warner (in a grove of pine trees, in the lee of a dune)

Karl Warner wrote:
I live in southwest Washington State, seacoast, USDA zone 8. This summer I
planted a dozen fava beans out of curiosity. Never grown them before, don't
recall ever seeing them before. The bush beans and pole beans are now long
gone but the favas appear to be in full stride. Each stalk has a cluster of
7 to 8 pods of all sizes tho most are the size of sausages! By feel the
beans inside are the size of grapes. How long are these things likely to
keep growing? Are they a cool season crop? They don't look like they are
ready to pick. Should I just wait until the pods turn brown and then shell
them? How to eat them will be yet another new experience.
-- Karl Warner (in a grove of pine trees, in the lee of a dune)

Eaten fresh, they are excellent. Cook them as you would peas, they cook
fairly
quickly for their size (if fresh. If dried, long cooking). I saute a
little garlic in oil, then
add the favas, stock, seasonings, parsley, and cook until tender. They
are a crop that you should
plant in october, because they survive the winter in Zone 7, but do not
like hot summer
conditions where they get attacked by all sorts of pests. My favas, for
example,
this summer keeled over and begged out but for winter zone 8 they are
just perfect.
They also condition your soil very well. They break clay (they love
clay), and they leave
enough nitrogen you should not need to fertilize for the warm season
crops.

Shell them when the pods start to change color and thickness, just like
regular beans. Man,
they are one of two or three zone 8 crops I really miss. Michigan just
is not their place.

In article ,
"Karl Warner" wrote:

I live in southwest Washington State, seacoast, USDA zone 8. This summer I
planted a dozen fava beans out of curiosity. Never grown them before, don't
recall ever seeing them before. The bush beans and pole beans are now long
gone but the favas appear to be in full stride. Each stalk has a cluster of
7 to 8 pods of all sizes tho most are the size of sausages! By feel the
beans inside are the size of grapes. How long are these things likely to
keep growing? Are they a cool season crop? They don't look like they are
ready to pick. Should I just wait until the pods turn brown and then shell
them? How to eat them will be yet another new experience.
-- Karl Warner (in a grove of pine trees, in the lee of a dune)



When they are ready, serve them with liver and a fine Chianti...... ;-D
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson

so I go along with Richard, shell them now, also because if you cut
them down to two inches (use the cut plants in the compost pile) they
will come again during the winter and produce a smaller crop in May.

Sorry, I'm a newbbie here whats caught my eye is this Zone 7 and Zone
8 business. Whats that about?

On 21 Oct 2005 07:34:21 -0700, "simy1" wrote:

are a crop that you should
plant in october, because they survive the winter in Zone 7, but do not
like hot summer
conditions where they get attacked by all sorts of pests. My favas, for
example,
this summer keeled over and begged out but for winter zone 8

"Steve Newport" wrote in message
...
Sorry, I'm a newbbie here whats caught my eye is this Zone 7 and Zone
8 business. Whats that about?

http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html

http://www.growit.com/ZONES/

They are applicable to North America. Since you have a UK address, you can
see the European equivalents he
http://www.uk.gardenweb.com/forums/zones/hze.html.

I do not personally find these zones all that meaningful. If you are indeed
in the UK, you likely are located in the same zone as me, in the Seattle
area, which is the same zone as Dallas, Texas, a place with a completely
different climate. Like many other Western gardeners, I prefer the
Generalized Western Plantclimates zones ("Sunset Zones"). The Sunset Zones
are based on latitude, elevation, ocean vs. continental air mass influence,
and local terrain topology. You can see a map he
http://www.sunset.com/sunset/garden/...845218,00.html.



--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Thanks to all who replied. This has been an interesting experiment with
promising results. I tried Google. Wow, now I am better informed and totally
confused. After all the caveats I was hesitant to eat them. But
apparently they have been cultivated (and consumed) in the mid east for
thousands of years. Also I just cannot believe people bothered to "peel"
individual beans as recommended. I shelled and ate a few raw; they tasted
and smelled just like fresh garden peas. Mine however look like lima beans
but are larger than butter beans. Next I tried your recommendation and
sautéed a few in oil with garlic, etc. Very tasty. If they are easy to grow,
I look forward to more.

Growing them is yet to be evaluated. You advised planting them in October
and I have done so; we will see. I planted these in early summer on a whim.
I do not recall on which day summer occurred this year perhaps that
explains why these grew so well. I am only 200 yards from the surf. Most of
the year we have high overcast with an average annual temperature of 60 deg
F. A half mile inland it may be clear and sunny but here it is usually haze
or fog. It has been a real challenge trying to find what will grow here.
Tomatoes, for example, blossomed early but did not ripen until first of
October. Peas and beans do ok, at least well enough to be worth the effort.
Brussels sprouts, oth, thrive. Before now I have not tried growing anything
through the winter due to the gloom and rain.

-- Karl


"simy1" wrote in message
ups.com...

Karl Warner wrote:
I live in southwest Washington State, seacoast, USDA zone 8. This summer
I
planted a dozen fava beans out of curiosity. Never grown them before,
don't
recall ever seeing them before. The bush beans and pole beans are now
long
gone but the favas appear to be in full stride. Each stalk has a cluster
of
7 to 8 pods of all sizes tho most are the size of sausages! By feel the
beans inside are the size of grapes. How long are these things likely to
keep growing? Are they a cool season crop? They don't look like they are
ready to pick. Should I just wait until the pods turn brown and then
shell
them? How to eat them will be yet another new experience.
-- Karl Warner (in a grove of pine trees, in the lee of a dune)

Eaten fresh, they are excellent. Cook them as you would peas, they cook
fairly
quickly for their size (if fresh. If dried, long cooking). I saute a
little garlic in oil, then
add the favas, stock, seasonings, parsley, and cook until tender. They
are a crop that you should
plant in october, because they survive the winter in Zone 7, but do not
like hot summer
conditions where they get attacked by all sorts of pests. My favas, for
example,
this summer keeled over and begged out but for winter zone 8 they are
just perfect.
They also condition your soil very well. They break clay (they love
clay), and they leave
enough nitrogen you should not need to fertilize for the warm season
crops.

Shell them when the pods start to change color and thickness, just like
regular beans. Man,
they are one of two or three zone 8 crops I really miss. Michigan just
is not their place.

sounds like the perfect climate for cabbage and favas, which you can
probably grow year round. Not tomato country, no, but still lots of
tasty things you can grow. It seems to me that you should try
artichokes, perhaps even Hubbard squash. Now those are two other treats.

Fava beans are great for the PNW climate. You can plant them 3x a year
(Fall, early spring and late spring). and, you can eat them green, like
peas or wait 'til they're brown. The "Fava Bean Project" would be a great
resource to check with. They're based in Oregon and should have a website.
They also put out a little pamphlet on growing fava beans and different
varieties.

I don't know if you've seen a frost, yet, but Favas are hardy and it might
be interesting to see how long they'll hang on.

For recipes, middle eastern style would be yummy. They use favas a lot in
Egypt.
"Karl Warner" wrote in message
...
I live in southwest Washington State, seacoast, USDA zone 8. This summer I
planted a dozen fava beans out of curiosity. Never grown them before, don't
recall ever seeing them before. The bush beans and pole beans are now long
gone but the favas appear to be in full stride. Each stalk has a cluster of
7 to 8 pods of all sizes tho most are the size of sausages! By feel the
beans inside are the size of grapes. How long are these things likely to
keep growing? Are they a cool season crop? They don't look like they are
ready to pick. Should I just wait until the pods turn brown and then shell
them? How to eat them will be yet another new experience.
-- Karl Warner (in a grove of pine trees, in the lee of a dune)

Apparently the "Fava Bean Project" no longer exists. I only recently
discovered Google but that is the conclusion I get from reading various
reports.

I planted them in several locations about my property and have decided to
try different things. I have already eaten some and will harvest more,
others I will allow to keep growing. If we happen to get a frost I will
cover some but not others. I even cut a few down to stubble and split the
tops, as someone suggested.

These were purchased in a packet from a convenience store rack. Obviously
they are "Windsor" beans. If I can find them I would like to try planting
some of the smaller ones as a ground cover for one of my raised beds. No
matter how much compost I dig in, the soil here remains little more than
dirty sand. Last month I actually hauled a truckload of clay and dug it
into one of the beds. But that is another topic. -- Karl

"philomena" wrote in message
...
Fava beans are great for the PNW climate. You can plant them 3x a year
(Fall, early spring and late spring). and, you can eat them green, like
peas or wait 'til they're brown. The "Fava Bean Project" would be a great
resource to check with. They're based in Oregon and should have a
website. They also put out a little pamphlet on growing fava beans and
different varieties.

I don't know if you've seen a frost, yet, but Favas are hardy and it might
be interesting to see how long they'll hang on.

For recipes, middle eastern style would be yummy. They use favas a lot in
Egypt.
"Karl Warner" wrote in message
...
I live in southwest Washington State, seacoast, USDA zone 8. This summer I
planted a dozen fava beans out of curiosity. Never grown them before,
don't recall ever seeing them before. The bush beans and pole beans are
now long gone but the favas appear to be in full stride. Each stalk has a
cluster of 7 to 8 pods of all sizes tho most are the size of sausages! By
feel the beans inside are the size of grapes. How long are these things
likely to keep growing? Are they a cool season crop? They don't look like
they are ready to pick. Should I just wait until the pods turn brown and
then shell them? How to eat them will be yet another new experience.
-- Karl Warner (in a grove of pine trees, in the lee of a dune)

no need to cover, they should take at least 12F wtihout dying. for the
smaller favas, go to the Territorial Seeds website. I am shocked that
they do so well in sand, they have always been considered the ideal
clay vegetable.

"simy1" wrote in message
ups.com...
no need to cover, they should take at least 12F wtihout dying. for the
smaller favas, go to the Territorial Seeds website. I am shocked that
they do so well in sand, they have always been considered the ideal
clay vegetable.


Hmm, perhaps they do not necessarily prefer clay but simply do well in it in
contrast to other plants. These were not planted in pure sand. My raised
beds were occupied at the time so I just stuck them about the property among
the landscaping (mostly rhodies and azaleas) to see what would happen. The
sand has been amended over several years with kelp, cranberries (culls) and
lots of pine needles -- definitely acidic. Oh yes, lots of fish carcasses
get dug in also. But still it's mostly sand. I suspect the favas may not
actually have any soil preference. (?)

I am getting really intrigued by these things. Some years ago, inland, I
went on a kick of trying to grow veggies amongst my urban landscaping. The
results were not encouraging. I have always been limited on the amount of
real-estate I can afford so I try to utilize it to the maximum. These favas
may look silly growing hither and yon, but golly they sure seem productive.
I am surprised how well they compete with the shrubs. And they thrive under
benign neglect. Now that's my preferred operating mode. -- Karl

How to eat them will be yet another new experience.


Hannibal Lecter: A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver
with some fava beans and a nice chianti.

Karl Warner wrote:
I live in southwest Washington State, seacoast, USDA zone 8. This summer I
planted a dozen fava beans out of curiosity. Never grown them before, don't
recall ever seeing them before. The bush beans and pole beans are now long
gone but the favas appear to be in full stride. Each stalk has a cluster of
7 to 8 pods of all sizes tho most are the size of sausages! By feel the
beans inside are the size of grapes. How long are these things likely to
keep growing? Are they a cool season crop? They don't look like they are
ready to pick. Should I just wait until the pods turn brown and then shell
them? How to eat them will be yet another new experience.
-- Karl Warner (in a grove of pine trees, in the lee of a dune)

Fava beans are a staple food in the Andes, which is where I became
familiar with them, but they are originally part of that
"circum-Mediterrean" trade circuit that spread foodstuffs and culinary
traditions from Morocco through the middle east and around as far as the
south of France and Spain, from whence you can head back to North Africa
for another go 'round. They are popular in Italy, for example.

They make a great "meaty" soup bean, among other things. Slipping the
skin off is a matter of preference, I suppose. If you think about how
many pods of peas you would have to shell for a cup of peas, vs. how
many pods of favas, you can see that even if you pop the skin off it
takes about the same amount of time. If you cook them in something like
soup, the skin will often slip off anyhow. Then you have fava skins
floating around, which is not all that attractive or appealing.

A less familiar (and very Andean) way of preparing them is to toss them
with a little oil and salt, then roast them in on a cookie sheet in a
low oven (350 or so) until they are golden and crunchy. Stir them around
every ten minutes or so--it takes about 30 minutes total. The effect is
similar to roasted chickpeas, if you've ever had those--a little hard on
the teeth, but very tasty snack!