I wasnât going to buy seeds this year, but one of my favorite and climate-appropriate seed shops reopened after taking last year off, and they have a truly lovely fava collection. Very impressed.
I came to them originally because theyâre grain collectors; if youâre in Canada you might enjoy them.
Thatâs awesome! Are there any that youâve tried that are particularly cold hardy?
I just barely read that favas are a cool season crop thatâs quite cold hardy. I went, âOooooh!â
I assumed they were a warm season crop, like most other bean species. If theyâre a cool season crop thatâs quite cold hardy, that greatly ratchets up my interest in them. I want as many crops as possible that I can plant a few weeks before frost and grow through my whole winter in zone 7b.
I think above ground growth tolerates around -5C, but other issues and disease might kill them in unfavourable conditions before frost. Below ground they are more tolerant and Joseph had some survive his winter, although rate wasnât great at first. Maybe now itâs better? There were some other beans that will perennialize and are being bred even more cold hardiness.
That would be cool. If something can live aboveground and give me a harvest through the winter, that would be great. I can live with the top dying and roots surviving and resprouting in spring and giving me seeds then, though. If it didnât take extra effort or seeds to resow them, I could just harvest the whole top of the plant to eat before the first hard frost, and let the roots resprout and grow it all back in spring.
We sow broad beans in autumn. Our winters arenât too harsh though we get plenty of sub-zero (°C) nights. As long as the plants are still small when frost starts they usually make it through winter then grow away in spring. Weâre having a very dry spring so the broad beans have simply decided to set seed rather than put on any growth. Themâs the breaks I guess.