BROAD BEAN

Published on Seed Savers Network (http://www.seedsavers.net)

Broad beans are a hardy bush. They are also called Horse beans, and in northern Africa, where a smaller version is common, Tick beans.

Plant Names Botanical Family: LEGUMINOSAE
Common Name: BROAD BEAN
Genus: Vicia
Species: fava

Origins: Broad beans have been cultivated since prehistoric times in Europe. They were unearthed in the ancient city of Troy and found in Egyptian tombs and with Bronze Age artefact's in Switzerland. Their exact origin has therefore been hard to determine. It is recorded that the Romans used them as voting tokens and that they reached China by the first century AD. Before the explorers brought the common bean back from the Americas, the only bean that Europeans and Middle Easterners knew was the broad bean. Folk (or primitive) varieties grow in the Sahel, the southern part of the Sahara Desert, in poor agricultural lands.

Plant Description: Broad beans are a hardy bush. They are also called Horse beans, and in
northern Africa, where a smaller version is common, Tick beans.

Variety Notes: The Gene flow journal (1989) mentions that cultivars collected in Sicily, Portugal, and Cyprus show a great diversity of type and landrace. Wide variation was evident in respect of the size and shape of the grains as well as the earliness of the crop.

• For colder areas, there are the long-podded types with up to eight beans in a pod. They are hardy and are ready for planting from early through to late autumn. Examples are Early Long Pod, Polar and Acquadulce.


• Longfellow produces up to ten beans in a pod. Red Epicure is grown for its chestnut flavour and colour and is hardy and heavy cropping.


• The Windsor or Broad-Pod beans will not survive winter in frosty areas but will die back and shoot from the roots in spring. Their pods have up to five beans in them and they have a pronounced flavour.


• The dry seeds of Green Windsor are green and hold their colour when cooked.


• Scarlet Cambridge has a deep burgundy-coloured bean.


• The Sutton is a much-branching bush with white-seeded pods that mature early.


• Dwarf broad beans are useful for windy areas: Cole's Early Dwarf is one of the many good English types and bears all its pods touching the ground.

Cultivation: Broad beans respond well to the addition of compost and moderate soil moisture. May to July is the best time for planting in most areas. Prune the tops when the bushes are half-grown to encourage branching and try these as a salad green or spinach. The beans are best planted in double rows or blocks because then they support each other. In New Zealand, many experienced gardeners often surround their double rows of long pod types with stakes, fix a rigid rail on top and tie strings around. It makes harvesting them easier, considering each plant might have five stalks which often fall over each other. Broad beans can be cut back to the ground after a sub-tropical winter and can be expected to shoot again.

Seed saving notes: Broad beans are partly self-pollinated and partly cross-pollinated. Several hundred metres is a fair isolation distance to ensure purity if you happen to be growing more than one variety. The first pods to form are best for seeds. They are to be found at the base and are larger than subsequent pods. Allow the pods to dry on the bush and choose those from the most vigorous individual plants. Such refined steps cannot be taken on a large scale where a whole field is combine-harvested and threshed.
Shell out the beans and dry on a rack until a bite on the seed will produce only a little mark. Thresh and store in a loose knit bag. The bean seeds will not need any winnowing.
Seed storage:
Seed can last for up to ten years but only if kept in conditions with low humidity and constant

and to cooking Broad Beans...

one of my favorites is a salad recipe that goes just as well on bruchetta or thick sourdough, or hollow out a batard and fill with salad to take on a picnic/lunch

Ingredients (serves 4)
375g (2 1/2 cups) shelled fresh broad beans

100g thinly sliced mild pancetta, coarsely chopped
80g baby rocket leaves
1 red onion, halved, thinly sliced
16 fresh basil leaves, torn
2 tbs red wine vinegar
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
1 garlic clove, crushed
Pinch of salt
60g reduced-fat feta, crumbled

Method
Cook the broad beans in a medium saucepan of salted boiling water for 8 minutes or until tender. Drain. Refresh under cold running water. Remove skins and place in a large serving bowl.
Heat a small non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until crisp. Remove from heat.
Add the pancetta, rocket, onion and basil to the broad beans and gently toss until combined.
Whisk together the vinegar, oil, mustard and garlic in a jug. Taste and season with salt. Drizzle over broad bean mixture and gently toss to coat.
Sprinkle feta over broad bean salad and serve immediately.
Notes
You will need 1kg of unshelled fresh broad beans for this recipe.