Why grow fava beans?

There’s something so satisfying about growing a whole row or raised bed of fava beans. You could say that they are my fava-rite. They add nitrogen to the soil as they grow, are pretty low-maintenance overall, and are delicious whether you eat them fresh or dried. Not only that, but every quarter cup you grow adds 13g of protein to your plate.

It’s because of this that fava beans are a regenerative permaculture gardener’s dream - they are a fantastic crop to grow if you’re working towards self-sufficiency.

Learn more about how to grow fava beans and how they benefit your garden with my article here.

Historical significance

You can see why fava beans are one of the first cultivated crops in human civilization. We’ve been growing them for over 10,000 years! With their origins in Israel and Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) region, in pre-columbian times, fava beans were likely the only bean known in Europe.

So when you save fava bean seeds, you’re connecting to the history of agriculture, taking a step towards self-sufficiency, and regenerating your garden at the same time.

What you’ll learn:

I’ve been saving fava bean seeds for a few years now, and am working towards growing my own landrace varieties.

In this article, I’ll explain in detail the step-by-step practices to collect fava bean seeds in a way that supports your garden and your family. Here’s what I’ve learned and why you should add this practice to your gardening skillset!

What to know before collecting fava bean seeds

Fava beans are a delight to collect and save due to their inherent nature to dry perfectly right on the plant.

Inside fully dried pods lie the seeds for next year’s plants, in perfect form.

Best Time and Conditions for Harvesting Seeds

In my garden, fall-planted fava beans tend to be fully dried around July.

Early spring sown plants are usually dry by the end of August.

My late-planted beans, sown in June, will be dry for harvest in September and October.

It’s a good idea to collect your seeds during a time when there has been no water in contact with the pods - either from rain or overhead watering.

A few days of bright warm sun will help your seeds to dry properly until it’s time to plant them next season. Wet seeds can become moldy or inviable during storage.

Simple Tools for Collecting Seeds:

• an envelope to store seeds in
• a sharpie to label the envelope

To save seeds, I carry a paper envelope around the garden with me. When I find a plant that has characteristics that I like, I open the crunchy pods to collect the seeds that are inside.

It's like a treasure hunt, searching for those perfect, crunchy pods.

Then, I label the envelope with the species name, what characteristics the plant presented, and where in my garden it was grown. I also note if the beans were planted in the fall, early spring, or late spring.

What to look for when saving fava bean seeds

• Fully dry pods: The pods should be completely brown to black in color, with no green or mold on the pods. They will feel crispy and crumbly, and should crack open easily.
• Pod + bean size: I look for both pods with a high number of beans and also for large, plump beans. Right now in my garden, the longer pods have seeds that are a bit smaller or thinner. I’m mixing these with larger thicker seeds to eventually have the  best of both worlds.
• Rust + disease free: Don’t save seeds from plants that were impacted by rust or any other disease.
• Thriving plants: Harvest seeds from plants that really thrived in your garden -focus on plants that were tall, a vibrant green color when growing, and didn’t topple over.
• Seasonality: As you collect seeds from fall-grown favas, over time you’ll have seeds adapted to your winter temperature conditions. If you plant both fall and spring crops, be sure to mark your fall-sown beans so you can continue planting them around the same time.
• Diversity: Harvest seeds from at least a dozen plants in order to ensure a diverse gene pool. I like to save a maximum of 6 seeds per plant, so I end up with around 72 seeds to plant next year in this way.

Step-by-Step Guide to Saving Fava Bean Seeds:

1. Crack open pods - they should be dry and crispy, and crumble easily
2. Look for seeds that are fully dry, normal in color appearance, and favor larger seeds. Inspect the seed for any signs of mold, deformities, or insect damage.
3. Select for your desired plant traits.
4. Place collected seeds in an envelope that is labeled with as much detail as possible.
5. Store the seeds in a cool, dry place until its time to plant them.
6. Continue growing, selecting, and harvesting seeds in order to create a bank of plants adapted to your exact growing situation.

As you place each magic bean into the envelope, they become like time capsules, holding within them the promise of next season's bounty. Label them meticulously, like a botanist cataloging a rare find.

Tip: I prefer paper envelopes over plastic bags for storage. Not only do I want to reduce my plastic consumption, but also baggies tend to build up condensation and can ruin the seeds.

Seed Quality & Viability

Note that larger seeds tend to be more viable and create strong plants.

You can test if the seeds are viable before storage by planting them in a six-cell tray with one seed per cell. Grow them inside, keeping the soil moist and keeping them under a grow light. If they are viable, they should germinate within a week.

Write down the germination rate on your envelope so that you know how many to plant next year. For example, if half of the seeds germinated, then you’d want to sow two seeds per hole in the garden next season.

Pro Tip: The folks at Going to Seed recommend placing your fava seeds in the freezer for three days to kill off any weevils or weevil eggs that my be lingering on your seeds. This will help prevent your seeds from getting eaten during storage.

Participate in Landrace and Sustainable Fava Bean Projects

Seed saving not only saves you money, but it can also help you save the planet and move towards a more resilient future.

Landrace seeds

Key points:

• How it’s different: Landrace seeds mix different cultivars (think: purple, red, yellow, green, and black fava beans) and collect seeds as though they were one species.
• The end result: This creates a more diverse seed bank and helps plants to be more resilient to extreme climate conditions.
• Why it’s important: Landrace seeds are particularly important as we work towards self-sufficiency during climate change.

Landrace seeds are a diverse and dynamic population of cross-bred seeds. In a landrace garden, different cultivars intermingle and naturally cross-pollinate.

For example, Columbian Purple Fava Beans may be planted next to pretty pink Karmazyn and Red Epicure. You would then save seeds from all of these species as though they were one variety. You’d plant them together next year, and continue to select seeds that match your criteria, preferred planting season, and environment.

Ideally, you’d want to have a very diverse mix of fava beans - the more, the merrier.

Landrace seeds help prevent inbreeding and genetic depression. This in turn creates future generations of plants that are more adaptable to local conditions. What’s more, is that these seeds have more diverse characteristics than a single variety. If you have an exceptionally hot, rainy, or cold growing season, it’s more likely that your plants will survive as opposed to a total crop failure.

Fava beans lend themselves very well to landrace seed practices. In fact, you can buy diverse gene pools pretty easily, so that you have a wide selection of seeds to start out with as opposed to buying a dozen different varieties and starting from scratch. (although, I like to start from scratch with some and mix in first generation or beyond seeds to lean the gene pool towards my favorite cultivars).

Here’s where you can get landrace populations of fava beans:

• Montana Rainbow: best for cold conditions or short growing seasons.
• Lofthouse Fava Landrace: best for hot conditions or dry climates.
• Going to Seed Population: very diverse from a wide range of locations, usually available early in the year.

Participate in landrace seed exchanges:

• Going to Seed offers the unique opportunity to contribute seeds from your own garden to be grown by gardeners across the country.
• Swap seeds with like-minded gardeners in your growing region
• Create your own community seed diversity project with Going to Seed
• Mix it up: Check out the 500 kinds of fava bean seeds offered by the USDA’s germoplasm research network, then go through this form on Going to Seed to request the varieties you’d like to experiment with in your own garden.

Nerd out: Learn more about growing Landrace Seeds - read this article by the master, Joseph Lofthouse, or buy his book for more details.

Give it a try

Saving fava beans is a rewarding endeavor that supports your access to food sovereignty and biodiverse populations that are resilient to climate change extremes.

I remember the first time I successfully saved seeds—it felt like a small victory. Watching those tiny seeds turn into thriving plants the next season was incredibly fulfilling. My mother, grandfather, and great-grandfather - and likely many before them - used to do the same, and it feels like I'm continuing their legacy.

Don’t be intimidated by the process! Start small, learn from your experiences, and gradually build your seed-saving skills. The benefits are worth the effort, and you’ll be contributing to a more sustainable gardening practice.

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