We have had some mighty cold weather here in TN this year…even the favas in the greenhouse have been bit back several times and I have not been able to pick tops or flowers from any this winter. Last winter, I picked them and made tincture thru-out the cold weather.

Planted 100 fava beans in the low garden over the weekend as the ground had dried sufficiently to get in there with a shovel and mattack and work up a small area. Today it is raining and the ground is soaked once again. There is such a small window to get ground dried out enough in spring to do planting…all the farmers around here are trying to get theirs done also in that little window of time….so it is hard to get help during short dry spells.

Meanwhile,my bag of favas are in the house screaming “plant me”….these seeds are different from those I have purchased in the past…fairly large, but a shade of green, not brown purple or yellowish. The are some 40 varieties of favas I have been told….who knows what kind these may be. The Health Food store in town ordered them for me from the same place as last year…Mountain High Organics…but the beans are completely different. Hopefully they will sprout and grow in our area.

Any of you thinking of planting favas this year? They like cool weather best as do all the pea family. March and April are good times to plant and I try to get all of mine in if possible by mid April.

Blessings from Bean Acres!

Aunt Bean