Broad Windsor Fava Bean

Vicia faba 'Broad Windsor'

vegetable

Broad Windsor is the traditional English broad bean (fava), grown for centuries for its big, flat, buttery seeds. It is one of the hardiest garden legumes: the sturdy, erect, two to four foot plants tolerate cold and light frost, so they go in very early and crop before summer heat arrives. White black-blotched flowers give way to thick, plush-lined pods, each holding a few large seeds eaten fresh-shelled, or left to dry. As a legume it fixes nitrogen and makes an excellent cool-season cover crop and soil builder as well as a food crop.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Spinach — A fellow cool-season crop that shares the early-spring bed and benefits from the nitrogen the favas fix
• Celery — Slow and shallow-rooted, it grows happily alongside the upright favas without competing
• Potato — A classic legume companion; the beans fix nitrogen while the potatoes use different soil layers

❌ Keep away from

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Aphids →

  Black bean aphids cluster on the tender tips - pinch out the growing tips once pods set, rinse colonies, and encourage ladybugs

• Chocolate spot →

  A Botrytis fungus that spots leaves in damp, crowded plantings - space for airflow, avoid overcrowding, and do not work plants when wet

• Bean rust →

  Give plants good airflow, avoid overhead watering, and clear infected debris at season end

🌾 Harvest & storage

Broad Windsor matures in about 75 to 85 days. For fresh shelling beans, pick when the pods are well filled and the seeds have begun to bulge but are still tender and bright green; the pods first stand upright and then droop as the seeds mature. Shell the beans, and peel off the white outer skin of each seed (easiest after a brief blanch) before eating. For dried beans, leave the pods on the plant until they turn dark and papery, then shell and finish drying indoors.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

Cooked fava beans provide about 110 calories per 100 g with around 7.6 g protein, roughly 5 g fiber, and a good 104 mcg folate, plus iron, magnesium, and potassium. They are a hearty, satisfying legume for soups, stews, salads, and dips - just observe the favism caution above.

⚠️ Toxicity & safety

Fava beans can trigger favism, a serious breakdown of red blood cells, in people with the inherited enzyme deficiency G6PD - most common in those of Mediterranean, African, or Southeast Asian ancestry. Affected people must avoid the beans (and even the pollen). Everyone else should cook favas before eating, as some people react to the raw seed.