Everwilde Farms - 1 oz Organic Broad Windsor Fava Bean Seeds - Gold Vault Bulk Seed Packet

This Mediterranean heirloom can be planted early, just after the last frost. The tall bushy plant produces 5" to 8" pods filled with quarter-sized beans that are delicious when dried and eaten as shell beans. They can also be eaten fresh, along with the young leaves that are delightful spring greens. Farmers of the Mediterranean region and Northern Africa have been cultivating the fava bean for thousands of years; some historians date this bean back to the Bronze Age and the ruins of Troy. Originally raised as cattle fodder, fava beans soon became a staple all over the world. Ancient tradition viewed the fava bean as a good luck symbol of sorts, as farmers would keep them to ensure a good crop next year. Housewives kept them in their pantries with the belief that this would prevent loss of the necessities of life. Though well known in the culinary establishments of Europe, and a favorite in England, the fava bean is just beginning its journey to America.