RED EPICURE BROAD BEAN

Vicia faba

An exceptional English selection. Broad beans are rarely grown in the United States but they do surprisingly well in cool misty pockets of the Northeast. The tall sturdy plants of Red Epicure can grow to 5' and bloom relatively early. White flowers splotched with black produce large pods. Immature green beans may be eaten raw or barely blanched as “fava” beans. Fresh ripe beans are beautiful lipstick red, and the dried beans are a dusky deep burgundy that makes for a fantastic display in a glass jar on the counter. Excellent nutty flavor.

Broad beans are an ancient food crop, so ancient that botanists and taxonomists cannot agree about where or how exactly Vicia faba originated. The plants prefer cool temperatures, but do not appreciate frost. They will seldomly produce beans in a hot summer. Though it is rarely suggested in garden literature, these seeds may be started indoors in deep pots and carefully transplanted in early spring. Growing in high tunnels is recommended where late frost is common. These transplants will often bloom in late May or June and produce a good crop before the heat of midsummer. In the Pacific Northwest these seeds may be sown directly into the ground and grown as a winter crop.

These plants will not cross with other beans, not even with other species of Vicia, so growing a single variety is recommended for easy seed saving. The only challenge presented is gathering the ripe dried pods before they shatter. The leaves and stems of mature plants make an excellent addition to mulch or compost and may also be used as nutritious fodder. The thick dense stalks can be dried and burned, and are in fact a valuable source of fuel where this species is grown as a field crop.

Mature dried broad beans absolutely must be soaked and washed thoroughly before cooking!

Packet contains at least 15 seeds.