- Variety Info
- Sowing Info
- Growing Info
- Learn More
Variety Info
Days to Maturity: 75 days
Family: Fabaceae
Type: Shelling Bean (Learn More)
Native: Unknown
Hardiness: Frost-tolerant annual
Exposure: Full sun
Plant Dimensions: Rigid, erect plant up to 4' tall, and 24" wide
Variety Info: 5"–6" glossy green pods grow both solitary and in pairs. Each pod contains 3–8 large, oblong-shaped, flat, light green beans.
Attributes: Cold Tolerant, Frost Tolerant
Sowing Info
When to Sow Outside: RECOMMENDED. 6 to 8 weeks before your average last frost date. Cold Climates: Very early spring, when soil temperatures are as low as 35°F. Mild Climates: Sow early to mid-winter for spring harvest.
When to Start Inside: Not recommended; bean seedlings are sensitive to root disturbance.
Days to Emerge: 10–15 days
Seed Depth: 1"–3"
Seed Spacing: 1 seed every 4"–6"
Row Spacing: 18"–36"
Thinning: Not required.
Your hardiness zone is
Growing Info
Harvesting: Favas beans are at the peak of freshness just before the saddle-shaped scar at the end of the seed ("hilum") turns brown. To eat whole like a snap bean, harvest when young and pods are 2"–3" long; for fresh shelling beans, harvest when the pod shell turns green and the bean is a light green color; and for dry beans to store, harvest when shell turns hard and brown and seeds inside are dry.
- AnonymousNV, United StatesRated 5 out of 5 stars11/18/25Super successful in the high desert
Beyond thrilled with the performance of the Windsor Fava Beans in the challenging high desert. Great pod production, delicious flavor, the plants lasted a very long time in the heat and blazing sunshine. Added bonus - the ladybugs loved living in the leaves, keeping the aphid infestation under control. Took some dried seeds from one of the pods and have a few plants growing and providing nitrogen this fall. We'll see how they do after the first hard freeze.
Which best describes you as a gardener? BeginnerWho do you grow for? YourselfHow do you prefer to grow? Raised BedBIBotanical Interests11/20/25Hey there,
Thank you so much for this fantastic 5-star review! "Super successful in the high desert" is exactly what we love to hear about Windsor Fava Bean Seeds - and we absolutely love that these incredible beans delivered such amazing pod production, delicious flavor, and impressive heat tolerance in those challenging high desert conditions with blazing sunshine!
Your ladybug bonus discovery and natural aphid control experience is such a wonderful garden ecosystem success story, and seeing you already saving seeds and growing fall plants for nitrogen fixing shows what dedicated gardeners can achieve with these versatile beans that keep on giving season after season!
Your high desert triumph will be so inspiring for other gardeners in challenging climates who want to discover just how resilient and rewarding Windsor Fava Bean Seeds can be for creating abundant harvests, supporting beneficial insects, and building soil health even in the toughest growing conditions!
Keep on growing 🌻️
- AnniRated 5 out of 5 stars9/14/255 Stars
Hit their annual sale and I'm stoked to beef up my flower garden and grow veggies that I've been wanting to!
- Susan p.Verified BuyerRated 5 out of 5 stars11/23/245 Stars
I grow favas every winter and these are some of the best! cut some off before they flower for the nitrogen in the soil, and let the rest produce flowers & then delicious beans to eat. When they're young they don't need to be double peeled, just taken out of the pod & enjoyed.
- ElizabethVerified BuyerRated 5 out of 5 stars5/30/245 Stars
So far so good!! Plants are growing!!
- ElizabethRated 5 out of 5 stars5/30/245 Stars
So far so good!! Plants are growing!!