Last year I planted fava beans (broad beans) for the first time. I was served delicious grilled fava beans at the East Coast Grill and was determined to grow some myself! I planted them in my shady home garden. But they were totally eaten by black aphids before the beans formed. This year, I planted them at my community plot which has incredibly full sunlight. NO APHIDS YET!!! The plants are blooming and I'm keeping my fingers crossed....
Vicia faba
Wow, they are beautiful. I only know them in red.
ReplyDeleteI never heard of red flowered fava beans but had fun looking these up.
ReplyDeleteHere's a great post on them: red flowered broad beans at Daughter of the Soil
What beautiful blooms!
ReplyDeleteI'm now starting to see a few black aphids and ants on the plants. But the plants look very healthy and beans are forming under the blossoms. Also, I see lady bugs around.
ReplyDeleteThe aphids are a bad pest for the favas and last year destroyed my plants that were growing in too much shade. The ants are there because they eat a sugary substance the aphids secrete and they actually protect the aphids. Lady bugs, however, are an aphid predator and control the population. They are good news.
I have high hopes still for this crop. I'll get my fava recipe ready!
Here's a cool site about ladybugs. One ladybug can eat as many as 50 aphids a day!
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