VegetableBean
Bell Fava Bean
Bell Fava Bean is a hardy, productive legume that thrives in cool-season gardens across zones 3 through 9. This open-pollinated heirloom cultivar, also called Bell Bean or Small-seeded Fava Bean, reaches 24 to 36 inches tall and delivers a generous harvest in 100 to 109 days. What sets it apart is its remarkable frost tolerance, sprouting readily in half-frozen ground and continuing to grow even as temperatures dip. Whether grown as a garden vegetable, cover crop, or feed grain, this variety proves itself in containers, raised beds, and garden plots with equal vigor.
Photo © True Leaf Market
Growing Conditions
USDA Zone
3-9
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
Moderate
Soil
Well-drained Loam; Fertile, Moderately Rich Soil
Growth Stats
36 in
Height
TypeUpright
Spacing
4
Plant Profile
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
Moderate
Zones
3-9
Size
36in H x ?in W
Growth
—
Care
Moderate
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Highlights
Bell Fava Bean earns its reputation through sheer hardiness and reliability. It sprouts in conditions that would defeat most beans, thriving where frost lingers and springs come late. The compact, upright plant produces abundantly without demanding rich soil or constant fussing, and its dual purpose as both edible legume and soil-enriching cover crop gives gardeners flexibility in how they use it. Heat tolerance rounds out its resilience, allowing it to bridge seasons that test many other crops.
Common Uses
Bell Fava Bean serves dual purposes in the garden. Gardeners shell the pods to harvest tender beans for fresh cooking, steaming, or stewing, enjoying them at the immature stage when texture remains delicate. Its equal value lies below ground: the nitrogen-fixing root system enriches soil when plants are tilled under as a cover crop or worked into garden beds, making it a staple for organic growers building fertility. Some cultivate it purely as feed grain for livestock, while others value it as a green manure crop that regenerates depleted beds.
Growing Timeline
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Care Instructions
Direct Sow
Sow Bell Fava Bean directly into the garden as soon as soil can be worked in spring, or in fall in zones 7 and warmer. Seeds will germinate and sprout in cool, half-frozen ground where tender beans would fail. Plant at the spacing specified below and water gently after sowing.
Harvesting
Bell Fava Bean reaches harvestable maturity in 100 to 109 days from sowing. Harvest pods when they feel full and firm to the touch, typically when they've swollen but before they harden and dry completely. For fresh eating, pick pods at the immature stage while beans inside remain tender and pale. Squeeze gently; mature pods will snap easily from the stem. If growing for seed or cover crop purposes, allow pods to dry fully on the plant before harvesting.
Growing Calendar
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Companion Planting
Pests & Diseases
Ecology & Traits
Edible
Scientific Classification
Vicia faba
Family
Fabaceae
Genus
Vicia
Growth Habit
Upright
Native Status
L48 (I)
History & Origin
“Bell Fava Bean carries the lineage of one of agriculture's oldest cultivated legumes. Vicia faba has fed civilizations across the Mediterranean, Middle East, and beyond for millennia, but this particular cultivar represents a refinement toward smaller seeds and reliable production in home gardens. Open-pollinated and heirloom in character, Bell Fava Bean preserves the genetic diversity and seed-saving traditions that connect modern gardeners to centuries of cultivation. Its development as a documented, named variety reflects the 20th-century work of seedspeople who recognized the value of cold tolerance and consistent yields for regions with short growing seasons.”