Can Fava Beans Be Grown Over the Summer?

Weather Requirements

• Growing fava beans requires long, cool growing season, as these legumes have a poor tolerance for hot or dry summer temperatures. For best results, plant fava beans very early in the spring. Better adapted to cooler regions, some varieties are cold hardy to below 25 degrees F. Fava beans are also intolerant of drought and require regular irrigation.

Planting Time

• Recommended planting time is early April so that flowering occurs well before summer. Summer heat causes flower and pod drop, reducing yields considerably. Plant yields severely are affected even if beans are planted during late May, notes the Purdue Cooperative Extension. Though the seedlings are well tolerant of frost, heat during all stages of growth is injurious to plants.

Soil

• Plant fava beans in a moist, medium-textured soil for best growth. Maintain continual moisture in the seed bed as this is crucial until seeds have germinated and seedlings are well-established. The plants are intolerant of poorly drained sites and standing water. Grow fava beans once every four years in a given site to minimize chances of soil-borne diseases. Fava bean seeds are slow growing, taking up to 20 days to germinate.

Plant Description

• The annual legume is tall and upright in growth with indeterminate or continuous flowering. This herbaceous plant with hollow stems grows to a mature height of about 3 feet. The pinnate foliage consists of two to six leaflets. The plant blooms profusely with white flowers marked with purple. However only a small portion of the blooms produce the foot long pods containing two to 12 beans. It takes between 80 and 120 days from seeding to harvest time. In temperate or subtropical regions, fava beans are grown as a winter annual.