When to Plant Broad Beans (Fava) in Cairns, Tropical Guide
Not recommended for the Tropical zone. The window below explains why.
Grow Broad Beans in your space
Also called fava beans, faba beans.
- Planting window
- Broad beans need a cool winter to set pods and will not crop in the tropics. Grow snake beans or winged beans instead.
- Days to harvest
- about 13 weeks
- Sunlight
- Full sun to light shade (minimum 5 hours). Tolerates partial shade better than most beans.
- Water needs
- Moderate water needs. Water during dry spells in winter. Increase watering during...
- Spacing
- 25cm apart, 75cm between rows
- Soil pH
- 6.0-7.5
Published · Last reviewed · By GardenBuddy.au
Growing advice is reviewed by hand. Planting dates, current conditions and prices on this page update daily.
This Broad Beans (Fava) guide is written for the Tropical zone, which takes in Cairns, Townsville and Darwin. Somewhere else? Your postcode picks the right one.
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Also handy: will it frost this week? and what grows in shade.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Broad beans are a cool-season legume and one of the few crops that thrive in winter across most of Australia. They fix atmospheric nitrogen, improve soil fertility, and are one of the oldest cultivated crops. Best grown as a winter crop in temperate and cool zones; marginal in tropical areas.
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Planting Calendar for Tropical
Broad Beans (Fava) is not recommended for Tropical.
Broad beans need a cool winter to set pods and will not crop in the tropics. Grow snake beans or winged beans instead.
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Current Growing Conditions
Soil temperature: 22.5°C (optimal range: 6–24°C) ✓ Ready to plant
Modelled from Open-Meteo forecast (Cairns), not a live sensor.
What this month normally looks like
In October the Tropical zone normally runs 34°C by day and 23°C overnight, with about 53 mm of rain over 5 or 6 wet days. Averages 1991 to 2026, 37 postcodes, SILO.
How to Grow Broad Beans (Fava) in Tropical Australia
When to Plant
Broad beans need a cool winter to set pods and will not crop in the tropics. Grow snake beans or winged beans instead.
- Soil
- Well-drained, moderately fertile soil. Tolerates heavier soils than common beans. Enriched with compost but not fresh manure.
- pH Range
- 6.0-7.5
- Sunlight
- Full sun to light shade (minimum 5 hours). Tolerates partial shade better than most beans.
- Spacing
- 25cm apart, 75cm between rows
- Watering
- Moderate water needs. Water during dry spells in winter. Increase watering during flowering and pod fill. Avoid waterlogging. Less thirsty than common beans.
Companion plants: Brassicas, Lettuce, Spinach, Potato, Corn (following season)
Avoid planting near: Onions, Garlic, Fennel
Grow before, grow after
Broad Beans sit in the legumes turn of a four turn bed rotation.
- Grow before it
- Roots and alliums (Carrot, Beetroot, Onion)
- Grow after it
- Leafy greens and brassicas (Lettuce, Silverbeet, Broccoli)
Give the bed 3 turns before legumes go back in. Beans and peas fix nitrogen, so they leave the bed richer than they found it.
Tropical Growing Tips for Broad Beans (Fava)
Recommended Varieties
- Not recommended, too warm
Key Challenges
- Insufficient cold for proper development
- Poor pod set in warmth
- Chocolate spot in humidity
Pro Tips
- Honest assessment: do not grow broad beans in the tropics
- Grow snake beans, winged beans or cowpeas instead. They thrive in tropical heat
- If you must try, the dry season at altitude (e.g., Atherton Tablelands) is the only hope
Harvesting Broad Beans (Fava)
When ready: Pods are plump, 15-20cm long, and beans inside are visible as bumps. For fresh eating, harvest when beans inside are bright green and about thumb-nail sized. For drying, leave pods on plant until completely brown and dry.
How to harvest: Snap or cut pods from stem. Start harvesting from the bottom of the plant (earliest pods). For fresh eating, pick regularly to encourage continued production. Inner skin of individual beans can be removed after blanching for best texture.
Preserving: pressure canning
5 tested pressure-canning recipes for Broad Beans: 5 where it is a main ingredient. Each one comes from published home canning guidelines. The conversion to Australian units is ours, with psi beside every kPa. Always follow your pressure canner's manual.
Where to next
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Open the planting dashboard Join GardenBuddy.auCommon Questions About Broad Beans (Fava)
When do you plant broad beans in Australia?
It depends on your climate zone, not the calendar month alone. Planting months by zone:
- Tropical (Cairns): not recommended
- Subtropical (Brisbane): Mar to Jun
- Warm Temperate (Sydney): Mar to Jul
- Cool Temperate (Melbourne): Mar to Aug
- Cold / Highland (Canberra): Apr to May, Jul to Aug
- Arid / Semi-Arid (Alice Springs): Mar to May
- Mediterranean (Perth): Apr to Jul
What else is broad beans called?
Broad beans is the usual Australian name. Overseas seed packets and recipes call it fava beans, faba beans. Same plant, same growing advice.
Which zone am I in?
Type your postcode into the box under the heading and the page tells you, and links this crop in your own zone if it differs. Or look it up on the grow zone map. This page is the Tropical zone, Cairns is its reference city.