Broad bean
Vicia faba
The hardiest common vegetable in this catalogue and the earliest thing most growers pick. Sown in autumn in mild areas it stands the winter and crops in late spring, well before anything else; sown in February it still beats every other bean by two months. Blackfly is the one recurring problem, and pinching out the tips deals with it.
- Position
- Full sun or Partial shade
- Water
- moderate demand
- Drainage
- Moisture-retentive
- Grows to
- 90–120 cm × 30–45 cm
- Hardiness
- H5
- Harvest
- May to August
- Difficulty
- Straightforward
Described view
The soft growing tip of a broad bean plant being pinched out between finger and thumb, with pods already set below
August
Harvest
Coming next month: sow outdoors.
Broad bean’s year
Resolved for United Kingdom (general). Every window is stored against a climate event rather than a date, so a late frost pocket runs later than the band shows. What else August calls for.
| Activity | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sow outdoors | February. | March. | April. | May. | September. | October. | November. | |||||
| Harvest | May. | June. | July. | August. |
Timing that travels
The band above resolves this plant's windows into months for one region. These are the windows themselves, stored against a climate event rather than a date — which is the form that survives being carried to a colder garden, a frost pocket, or next year.
- Sow outdoorsfrom 6 weeks before to 2 weeks after your first autumn frost
source
Sourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Broad beans — autumn sowing
Checked 2026-08-13
Autumn sowing, for an early crop. Only worth it in milder areas and on ground that does not lie wet.
- Sow outdoorsfrom 2 weeks before to 8 weeks after the soil becoming workable
source
Sourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Broad beans — sowing
Checked 2026-08-13
Spring sowing, from late winter onwards as soon as the ground can be worked.
Conditions it needs
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Direct sun
- 5 hours a day or more
- Frost
- Very hardy
- Hardiness rating
- H5 (RHS)
- Survives down to
- -8–-5 °CSourced guidanceDepends on conditions
- Grows best at
- 10–20 °C
- Germinates at
- 5–20 °C
- Soil
- Loam, Clay, Silt
- Soil pH
- 6–7.5
- Drainage
- Moisture-retentive
- Water needs
- moderate
- Drought
- moderate tolerance
- Waterlogging
- moderate tolerance
- Heat
- poor toleranceHorticultural consensusDepends on conditions
- Wind and exposure
- moderate tolerance
Where these figures come from
- LightSourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Broad beans — position
Checked 2026-08-13
- Direct sunHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- FrostSourced guidancehigh confidence
Autumn-sown plants stand a normal British winter outdoors without protection.
- Royal Horticultural Society: Broad beans — hardiness
Checked 2026-08-13
- Hardiness ratingSourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: RHS hardiness ratings
Checked 2026-08-13
- Survives down toSourced guidanceDepends on conditionshigh confidence
Applies when: Hardy cultivars specifically bred for autumn sowing; spring cultivars are less tough.
- Royal Horticultural Society: Broad beans — overwintering
Checked 2026-08-13
- Grows best atHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- Germinates atSourced guidancehigh confidence
- OSU Extension Service — Oregon State University: Vegetable seed germination temperatures
Checked 2026-08-13
- SoilHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- Soil pHSourced guidancehigh confidence
- University of Minnesota Extension — University of Minnesota: Soil pH for vegetable crops
Checked 2026-08-13
- DrainageHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- Water needsHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- DroughtHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- WaterloggingHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
More tolerant of heavy wet ground than most legumes, which is part of why autumn sowing works.
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- HeatHorticultural consensusDepends on conditionsmoderate confidence
Applies when: Pod set falls away in hot dry weather, which is why the crop is finished by midsummer.
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- Wind and exposureHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
On your soil
Computed by comparing this plant's recorded requirements against each soil's recorded characteristics. A recorded horticultural fact overrides the comparison where GrowingHQ holds one.
| Soil | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy clay | Prefers this soil | Broad beans want a firm root run and steady moisture, and are among the few crops that can be autumn-sown on clay and come through. The cold, slow spring that holds everything else back does not trouble them. |
| Sandy | Grows well here | Broad bean grows perfectly well on sandy without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose. |
| Chalky and alkaline | Grows well here | Broad bean grows perfectly well on chalky and alkaline without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose. |
| Loam | Prefers this soil | Loam suits Broad bean as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 6 to 7.5, and this soil is in that range. Loam is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering. |
| Silty | Prefers this soil | Silty suits Broad bean as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 6 to 7.5, and this soil is in that range. Silt is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering. |
| Peaty and acid | Grows well here | Broad bean grows perfectly well on peaty and acid without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose. |
| Shallow over rock | Grows well here | Broad bean grows perfectly well on shallow over rock without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose. |
| Made ground and urban soil | Grows well here | Broad bean grows perfectly well on made ground and urban soil without special measures, though it is not the soil it would choose. |
Not sure which you have? Four hand tests will settle it.
Space and spacing
- Mature height
- 90–120 cm
- Mature spread
- 30–45 cm
- Rooting depth
- 60 cm
- Spacing
- 20–23 cm apart
- Row spacing
- 45–60 cm
Where these figures come from
- Mature heightSourced guidancehigh confidence
Dwarf cultivars reach about 45 cm and suit exposed sites and containers.
- Royal Horticultural Society: Broad beans — cultivars
Checked 2026-08-13
- Mature spreadHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- Rooting depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- SpacingSourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Broad beans — spacing
Checked 2026-08-13
- Row spacingSourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Broad beans — spacing
Checked 2026-08-13
In a container
- Minimum volume
- 20 litres or more
- Minimum depth
- 30 cm
Where the container figures come from
- Minimum volumeHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- Minimum depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
A dwarf cultivar only; standard ones are too tall and top-heavy for a pot.
Where and how you can grow it
Each way of growing is assessed separately, and “not assessed” is a real answer rather than a gap we have filled in with a guess.
| Method | Suitability | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
| Open ground | Well suitedsourceSourced guidancehigh confidence
Checked 2026-08-13 | Support for tall cultivars on exposed sites |
| Traditional dug bed | Well suitedsourceHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13 | |
| Raised bed | Well suitedsourceHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13 | Particularly good for autumn sowing, where winter drainage decides the outcome. |
| Polytunnel | Well suitedsourceSourced guidancemoderate confidence
Checked 2026-08-13 | For an early start in cold districts. |
| Container | WorkablesourceHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13 | A dwarf cultivar; 20 litres or more |
| Greenhouse | WorkablesourceSourced guidancemoderate confidence
Checked 2026-08-13 | |
| Hydroponics | MarginalsourceGrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence Nitrogen fixation, height and a crop that is at its best from an autumn sowing standing outdoors through the winter — none of which a system improves.
Checked 2026-08-13 | |
| Windowsill | Not suitablesourceHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13 |
Growing it
- SowingSow 5 cm deep in double rows, spacing the seeds about 20 cm apart. Double rows let the plants support each other, which matters for a top-heavy crop.5 cm
- SupportRun string between canes along each side of a double row once the plants reach about 30 cm. A laden broad bean falls over in wind and the pods spoil on the ground.
- PruningPinch out the top 8 cm of each plant once the lowest flowers have set pods. Blackfly concentrate on the soft growing tip, so removing it takes the developing infestation with it — and it puts the plant's energy into the pods it already has.
- WateringWater at flowering and while the pods are filling. Autumn-sown plants generally need none until spring. Dry weather at flowering reduces the set, and it also concentrates blackfly on the growing tips, which is the point at which the tips should be pinched out.
- FeedingAnother legume that fixes its own nitrogen and needs no nitrogen feed. Compost worked in before sowing is enough, and the roots are worth leaving in the ground for whatever follows.
Where this guidance comes from
- SowingSourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Broad beans — sowing
Checked 2026-08-13
- SupportHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Broad beans — supporting
Checked 2026-08-13
- PruningSourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Blackfly on broad beans
Checked 2026-08-13
- WateringSourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Broad beans — cultivation
Checked 2026-08-13
- FeedingSourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Broad beans — cultivation
Checked 2026-08-13
Is it worth putting under cover?
Whether it will grow there is on the methods table above. This is whether the space is well spent, which is a different question and usually the one being asked.
| Structure | What protection is worth | What decides it |
|---|---|---|
| Greenhouse | Extends the seasonsourceGrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence What protection is worth for this crop, judged against the same standard as every other record in this file.
Checked 2026-08-13 | Space against reward. An autumn-sown broad bean is hardy enough to stand a British winter outdoors, so cover buys a few weeks and costs a whole winter's bench. |
| Polytunnel | Extends the seasonsourceGrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence What protection is worth for this crop, judged against the same standard as every other record in this file.
Checked 2026-08-13 | Space against reward, which a tunnel changes because the space is cheap. An early tunnel row crops a fortnight before the outdoor one. |
Growing it without soil
Nearly anything can be grown in a soilless system by somebody with enough equipment. The useful question is whether it is worth it, in which technique, and what goes wrong.
It can be made to grow, but a soilless system is the wrong tool — usually because of rooting volume, running cost, or a result no better than a pot of compost.
source
GrowingHQ editorial positionmoderate confidence
Nitrogen fixation, height and a crop that is at its best from an autumn sowing standing outdoors through the winter — none of which a system improves.
- GrowingHQ editorial synthesis — GrowingHQ
Checked 2026-08-13
The nodules are visible on the roots if you lift a plant, which makes this the easiest of the nitrogen objections to see for yourself.
Techniques that suit it
- Drip-fed mediumSolution is dripped into an inert medium around each plant. The most forgiving technique and the one that suits large, long-season, heavy crops.
Horticultural consensusDepends on conditionsmoderate confidence
Applies when: Possible in medium; no reason to.
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- Root space
- Large, with staking.
- pH band
- 5.5–6.5
Where these figures come from
- Root spaceHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- pH bandSourced guidancehigh confidence
Outside roughly this band, individual nutrients become unavailable even when they are present in the solution — which is why a crop can starve in a full reservoir.
- Purdue Extension — Purdue University: Hydroponic solution management — pH
Checked 2026-08-13
No nutrient recipes here
GrowingHQ records pH bands, which are measurable properties of nutrient availability, and deliberately records no EC or PPM targets and no mixing instructions. Published targets vary by cultivar, growth stage, water source and technique, and the figures that apply to your system are on the product you bought.
Harvesting
Sourced guidanceDepends on conditionshigh confidence
Applies when: From a spring sowing. An autumn sowing takes far longer in elapsed time but crops earlier in the year.
- Royal Horticultural Society: Broad beans — timing
Checked 2026-08-13
- When it is readyPick when the pods are well filled and the beans still bright green. A white or black eye where the bean joins the pod means it is going tough and starchy. Very young whole pods can be picked at 8 cm and cooked entire.
- How to pick itTwist and pull downwards, or cut with scissors on brittle stems.
- Keeping itFreezes well after blanching. Older beans are better skinned after cooking.
Where the harvest guidance comes from
- When it is readySourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Broad beans — harvesting
Checked 2026-08-13
- How to pick itHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
- Keeping itHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence
No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Keep picking
What goes wrong
| Problem | How often | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pea and bean weevil | commonsourceSourced guidancehigh confidence
Checked 2026-08-13 | Worst on an autumn-sown crop that is still small when the adults become active in March. |
| Aphids | commonsourceSourced guidancehigh confidence
Checked 2026-08-13 | Blackfly on the growing tips, almost every year. Pinching out is the answer. |
| Slugs and snails | occasionalsourceHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence No external citation — see the evidence type above. Checked 2026-08-13 |
Grown with, grown after, grown instead
Every relationship states its mechanism. A pairing nobody can explain is a pairing nobody has checked, and it does not go in.
- Same rotation groupPeaBoth Fabaceae sharing foot and root rot organisms, so they belong to the same rotation group and should not follow one another.
source
Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Crop rotation
Checked 2026-08-13
- Grown togetherPotatoBroad beans are cleared by midsummer, which frees ground and light beside a maincrop potato just as the potato canopy is at its largest. The benefit is one of timing and space, not of any interaction between the plants.
Sourced guidanceDepends on conditionshigh confidence
Applies when: A spacing and sequencing benefit only. No chemical or pest interaction is claimed.
- Royal Horticultural Society: Intercropping
Checked 2026-08-13
Safety and edibility
- Allergensensitised individualsBroad beans trigger favism, a serious haemolytic reaction, in people with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency. Inhaling the pollen can be enough in sensitive individuals.
source
Sourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Vicia faba
Checked 2026-08-13
Anyone with known G6PD deficiency should avoid eating broad beans, and should be aware that the plant in flower is also implicated.
Sources for this page
Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board · GrowingHQ editorial synthesis · OSU Extension Service · Royal Horticultural Society · University of Minnesota Extension
Each figure on this page carries its own citation, under the “where these figures come from” note in its section. Record last reviewed 2026-08-13.
If something is wrong with it
- New growth twisted, puckered or distorted — 2 causes GrowingHQ holds for broad bean
Something else? Work through it with the diagnostic tool.