Bell Beans (Small Favas)
Edible nitrogen-fixing cover crop. Can be planted alone, or together with wheat, mustard, vetch, or our overwintering mix. Widely used in maritime climates as a winter cover crop and a staple dry food bean around the Mediterranean. More cold-hardy than the large favas, Bell beans will survive overnight lows down to 20 degrees.
Fall-sown in zones 8 and above, spring sown in colder zones. In colder zones it's also possible to sow late summer and allow the plants to winterkill.
Overwintered Bell beans are the earliest-flowering cover crop, providing nectar for pollinators very early in spring or late winter. They can grow to 5 or 6 feet in perfect conditions. Late plantings are more likely to stay at 3' or so. Best yield of biomass and nitrogen if sown early to mid fall. However, they will sprout and grow in soil that is 45 degrees, so can be sown fairly late in mild-winter areas. In mild-winter areas, they may be cut or tilled in at first bloom for maximum soil nitrogen, or left to mature a crop of beans, which are a staple food in Egypt and elsewhere around the Mediterranean.
80-seed pkt sows 50 sq ft, or up to 100 if used with another cover crop like wheat, vetch, etc.
There is a very rare genetic condition which makes people get very sick from favas. If you have never tried them before, eat a small portion of cooked beans the first time.