Favas, Old and New

Less than 7 weeks ago, I planted my saved favas — some from last year and some from 2020, if my journal is to be believed (I have my doubts). I’ve put both in the big box, below, with the older beans on the left and the newer ones on the right. The picture makes the newer ones look a tad more robust, but I think that might be an illusion.

I’ve also given each set its own box (new pictured first, old second), with much more cramped spacing, mainly because I have more favas than I have growing room. I’m starting to wonder if perhaps crowded conditions encourage the plants to remain as single-stemmed.

This volunteer from last year, with all the space it could possibly want, is putting out lots of stems, coincidentally or not.

Meanwhile, the snow peas that I planted around the same time have been annihilated by slugs or some other pest. It’s a little surprising that the favas haven’t experienced any similar problems.

Interestingly, a number of peas (I’m not sure which kind) and favas have sprung forth from the ground, where maybe I cast off some dead plants a while back. I wonder if these peas are a more hardy variety, or if there’s something else going on in this ecological micro niche.