A14
Friday, February 15, 2013
Garden
The NOW COQUITLAM, PORT COQUITLAM, PORT MOODY, ANMORE AND BELCARRA
Fava beans grow well in this rainy climate
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It’s a dwarf variety and the beans are also quite ne of the most rugged, carefree and small. useful beans for our cool, wet coastal Where different varieties of favas are climate is the fava bean or broad bean grown together, they will cross-pollinate. If — and February is the time when planting Cambridge scarlet is one, you can end up season can begin for varieties destined for the with a stunning mix of flowers from white to kitchen. Aside from producing tasty beans, favas leave pale pink to hot pink to purple red. The bean shapes, colours and heights of the plants are the soil richer than they found it by fixing equally diverse. nitrogen in nodules on their roots. They don’t Even when soil is not especially fertile, mind slightly acidic soil, and can also handle these beans can still produce an clay and even soil that is somewhat adequate crop. As well, by the time salty. other kinds of beans need frequent These beans are popular all over watering, favas have finished cropthe world and are said to still grow ping and the bed can be cleared for wild in their original habitat of second-season vegetables such as Algeria. As early as 3,000 BC they broccoli or Brussels sprouts. were apparently being eaten by Although favas can apparently Egyptians, Romans and Greeks. develop rust or fungal infections, But until Columbus discovered Branching Out this doesn’t seem to happen freAmerica and brought back other quently. But attacks by the black bean varieties, favas were the only Anne Marrison bean aphid can be a yearly occurbeans that Europeans knew. rence, dealt with by removing the Young fava beans are the most tender top leaves. Unlike other aphids, the flavourful and can be eaten like green peas. black aphids attach very firmly and few of them They’re even more tasty with a sprig or two of are dislodged by blasts of water from hoses. mint added to the pot. The young beans freeze The first warning signal is when ants beautifully too. Dried fava beans will store well become visible on the tops of the fava plants. for months. When they’re cooked, their soft That’s when gardeners who want to do a precentre is the base for many kinds of dips and emptive strike will pinch out the top of each spreads. bean plant. The aphids don’t bother moving In the garden, favas stand straight up on down to the tough lower leaves. thick, square stems about four feet tall. But If you mulch favas with grass clippings when the pods begin to fill out they start leanaround the time that mowing begins you ing at different angles. That’s why it’s best to can manage to avoid weeding from seedling place a tall stake at each end of each row and emergence through to composting the mature run string between them. The plants still lean plants. Mulching is best started down the rows slightly but their companions stop the bed and as the seedlings enlarge, the mulch can be from turning into a shambles. extended to cover around the plants. Fava flowers are so heavily fragrant they scent the whole area. Most are white with a • Anne Marrison is happy to answer garden black blotch, but one heritage fava, Cambridge scarlet, has red flowers and bright green beans. questions. Send them to amarrison@shaw.ca.
Fava or broad beans were the only variety Europeans were familiar with before Columbus brought other types back from North America. Dreamstime
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