Bean (Broad bean / Faba bean / Field bean)

Plant family

Legumes (Fabaceae)

Also known as

Fava Bean, Tic Bean, Tick Bean, Horse Bean

Season Overview

Details

Light requirement

Sunny

Water requirement

Very humid

Soil

Medium (loamy)

Nutrient requirement

Medium

Seeding distance

10 cm

Row spacing

60 cm

Seeding depth

5 cm

Instructions

The season for this plant is over. The following instructions are for the next season.

End of February

Sowing

End of March

Support

End of March

Mulch

Description

The field bean (also called broad bean, cattle bean, broad bean, or broad bean) belongs to the legume family. This makes it a good precursor crop for nutrient-demanding crops. Its deep roots go into symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria and nitrogen is enriched in the soil. Even though it is called field bean, it does not belong to the beans, but to the genus of vetches. The field bean is not particularly sensitive to frost - on the contrary, a cold stimulus promotes its germination. Therefore, it is suitable for locations where many beans are already too cold. Usually summer field beans are planted, but there are also winter field beans, these can be sown as early as autumn. They ripen 1-2 weeks earlier than summer field beans and thus cope somewhat better with early summer - drought.

Growing tips

When growing field bean, you can remember one thing: sow early and deep! Too late sowing often leads to aphid infestation and gives a head start to undesirable weeds. A deeper sowing has a positive effect on the stability. Direct seeding is possible from the end of February to the end of March. Alternatively, you can prepare cuttings from the end of January. After about four weeks you plant them out in suitable weather. Depending on the variety, it takes about 100 days until harvest. For a better stand you can pile up the plants. Otherwise they are very undemanding.