Fava Bean Projects

I was pleased to find a plant with :crossed_fingers: crimson-y flowers. Previously, I had no known crimson flower varieties, but I did get a pack of GTS seeds this year, so that’s the likely source. Big thank you to all who contributed to that!


Elsewhere, I’m attempting to start a “do as little as possible” clay-buster fava mix. Last month (May 15), I used a stick to poke holes in hard/compacted clay (previous year grew potatoes on top of the clay in straw mulch) and just dropped the seeds in. Then kicked whatever material i could over the hole with my shoe. They took quite awhile to sprout (2+ weeks, no pre-soak), but it seems they focus on the tap root first so no worries there. I’ll compare these to a group I planted by dragging a shallow furrow in the clay.

My suspicion (from very informal tests last year) is that, when in clay, the favas do a little better with LESS ground disturbance. So poking-a-hole is better than attempts to fork, furrow or otherwise try to loosen up the ground… but we will see.

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