Customer Service Hours
Mon-Fri 8-4 MST
Features
Family
Fabaceae
Native
Unknown
Life Cycle
Annual
Plant Height
Tall (Greater than 24")
Further Information
Growing Conditions
- Cold Tolerant
- Frost Tolerant
About ["Shelling Bean"]
Vicia faba
5"–6" glossy green pods grow both solitary and in pairs. Each pod contains 3–8 large, oblong-shaped, flat, light green beans.
Planting ["Shelling Bean"]
Plant Spacing
1 seed every 4"–6"
Light Required
Full sun
Plant Height
Tall (Greater than 24")
Planting Depth
1"–3"
Coverage & Planting Details
| Coverage | This packet sows up to 9 feet. |
|---|---|
| Row Spacing | 18"–36" |
| Seed Depth | 1"–3" |
| Seed Spacing | 1 seed every 4"–6" |
| Thinning | Not required. |
| Germination | 10–15 days |
| Start Indoors | Not recommended; bean seedlings are sensitive to root disturbance. |
| Direct Sow | 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. |
| Growing & 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. |
Find Your Frost Date & Grow Zone
Average First Frost Date
October 19
Average Last Frost Date
May 19
Your Hardiness Zone is
5b
Send Your Recommendation
Total 5 star reviews: 11 Total 4 star reviews: 0 Total 3 star reviews: 0 Total 2 star reviews: 0 Total 1 star reviews: 0
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Rating
Which best describes you as a gardener?
11 reviews
- Robert K.Verified BuyerRated 5 out of 5 stars1/28/26Fava Favorite
I have been planting Windsor Favas for maybe 12 years. They are reliable, germinate consistency, and are wonderful plants. Leaves, pods, beans, I love them all.
I am in San Jose Ca and plant as a winter crop and harvest in the late spring.
Which best describes you as a gardener? IntermediateBIBotanical Interests1/28/26Hey Robert,
What an incredible review of our Windsor Fava Bean Seeds! 12 years of growing the same variety is the ultimate testament to how amazing these favas are. We love hearing that they've been so reliable and consistent for you all these years, and it's fantastic that you enjoy every part of the plant - the leaves, pods, and beans! Your winter growing setup in San Jose sounds perfect for getting the most out of these wonderful plants. Thank you for choosing us year after year and for sharing your growing expertise with us. Keep on growing 🌻️
- raleigh y.Verified BuyerRated 5 out of 5 stars11/21/25Fava Bean Seeds
They are growing beautifully!
Which best describes you as a gardener? ProfessionalBIBotanical Interests11/24/25Hey raleigh,
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with our Windsor Fava Bean Seeds! We love hearing that they're growing beautifully! Keep on growing 🌻️
- 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.