Fava Beans for Overwinter?

[digitS']

Aquadulce Claudia Fava

Oregon State University recommends them for overwinter planting LINK!

Fava beans have absolutely burned up in my garden. Two years of trying with Spring planting. This isn't the Willamette Valley of Oregon but I read that they are grown Spring and Fall in the UK.

Steve

 

[Decoy1]

I’m able to sow Aquadulce Claudia in November every year in modules. I plant out some in late January or early February in my polytunnel and they are just coming ready now. Another lot go out of doors and they’ll be ready in another three or four weeks.

Perhaps something like that might work for you? I only grow them as an early crop, as there’s so much else available in high summer.,

 

[digitS']

It might, @Decoy1 . Your approach must extend the growing season and harvest a good deal.

The article refers to "temperate areas of the Pacific Northwest" but just using the climate chart in Wikipedia for the university location, I see some similarities with the chart for Lincoln, England. The similarities are for mean Winter temperatures. The differences are with extremes. So, it's likely that Lincoln shows much more consistency yearly but also daily through the Winter season.

Averages would show a greater contrast in my location, further into the interior NW and at a higher elevation. I wait until mid-March to set up a polytunnel.

Starting and transplanting in both your polytunnel and the outdoors at the same time would reduce bother and spread the harvest weeks. Super! And, thank you for the very specific confirmation of the process.

Steve

 

[Branching Out]

I started my fava on January 16th this year. It's an heirloom variety that I received from an Italian friend. Initiallly I rinsed the seeds and set them between two saucers on the counter; they took a couple of days to imbibe and swell up. After about ten days the radicles emerged. I sowed them in 4” pots using soil that had been outside, so had to cover them with row cover whenever I brought them in the house lest insects escape. By February 4th half had leaves pushing through the surface, but the weather was frigid outdoors. So I put them outside for bright light and fresh air during the day when it was above freezing, and then brought them in at night to warm up. it worked well. The early start with many weeks of cold is supposed to encourage more tillers, and I believe that was the case with my batch.

Now the challenge is ants farming the black flies. Ant bait is helping a bit, but I'm going to have to stay on top of it.

 

[flowerbug]

...
Now the challenge is ants farming the black flies. Ant bait is helping a bit, but I'm going to have to stay on top of it.

ants do farm aphids, but i've never heard about them farming black flies of any kind, are you sure of that? fungus gnats may be cohabitants without actually being farmed (if those are the black flies you are indicating).