50 Windsor, Broad Bean Seeds,(vicia Faba)aka, Fava Bean, Hardy, Reliable&versatile ! fava bean (Faba vulgaris orVicia faba) is the Swiss army knife of vegetables. Being the hardiest of beans, they are sturdy, reliable and versatile. Fava beans, aka broad beans, grow on hardy annual bushes ranging in height from 20 inches to more than 48 inches. The sprawling plants produce gray-green, pointed leaves and sweetly fragrant, creamy flowers with a purplish blotch, followed by large, green pods in early to midsummer.Left alone, the plants are likely to sprawl awkwardly as heavy pods mature, so use wire grid plant supports or plant a more erect variety, such as 'Broad Windsor.' Fava beans also can be planted in containers or along the top of a wall.Try planting them with Austrian field peas, whose maroon and lavender flowers combine nicely with fava bean foliage.Plant spring fava beans in a sunny site after all chance of frost is past. They do well in moderately heavy soil that is high in organic matter. They shouldn't need fertilizing; in fact, too much nitrogen will produce leggy plants with fewer pods. Not only that -- fava beans (or more precisely, their symbiotic bacteria) add nitrogen from the air to the soil.Plant 1-1/2 inches deep and 2 to 4 inches apart. Space rows 20 to 30 inches apart for dry beans and 18 inches apart for fresh shell beans. Germination takes six to 14 days at 60 degrees.Pinch large seed varieties back when 18 to 20 inches tall to encourage more and shorter branches.Harvest crisp, 2- to 3-inch baby pods for dipping or light steaming. For shell beans, harvest when pods droop. For dry beans, harvest beans or bushes when 90 percent of leaves have yellowed and pods have dried. Allow to dry a few days on a tarp under cover before removing beans.While unripe seeds (young favas) can be eaten raw when still tender, mature favas should be cooked before eating. Young beans can be steamed, pured or sauted and eaten with pasta or rice. Or, toss cooked favas with chopped crisp bacon and chives.Dry beans need to cook a long time, so add to soup or stew for best results. Dry beans of small-seeded varieties can be popped like popcorn and salted, and leaves can be used like spinach. Consider using a bean seed inoculant to improve growth and nitrogen-fixing ability of favas.Plants tilled into the soil before seed is set can decompose in two weeks, allowing the area to be replanted. Woody plants may take 4 to 6 weeks to decompose, delaying the next crop.If aphids show up, control with sprays of insecticidal soap or pyrethrin.