If only everything worked liked fava.

The picture is of my fava beans, two rows on the sides of my marionberry vines, too small at this time.

The rains have slowed down to once, twice a week, here in the Pacific Northwest.  We get to examine our gardens and begin planting at this time. Oh, some of us have been busy weeding and amending and  seeding too.  I want to tell you today about the easiest thing to grow, outside of radishes.

Fava beans, also known as broad beans, a cousin of lima beans, I think, are probably the least fussy of vegetables to grow in this sandy terrain that will soon become full of all kinds of weeds.  Fava are most delicious when picked young and cooked and served the way we serve peas.

But, I will not talk about cooking in this blog. (I do, however, in my  real food blog.)
I just think that fava are unappreciated; yet, they are the easiest thing to grow.

A. They like all kinds of weather. They can be planted as a winter crop, or an all season crop.
B. Bugs and birds leave them alone.
C. Leaves and fruit are edible raw, when young.
D. The entire plant, after harvesting the pods, can be easily tilled under. The roots develop numerous nitrogen fixing pods, and the entire stock can be roto-tilled easily too.

Imagine, a plant for all seasons, with no enemies, no downside at all.
I'm recommending that everyone grow a few rows this year. 

Growing Your Food

This is what you need to start growing your own food:
1. empty egg carton
2.seeds
3. seed starter-soil

The most expensive item will be the seeds.  I choose different ones to try each year in a different plot, that way, I am excited about the results.  This is my hobby after all; it feeds us in more ways than one.

Usually, I plant Territorial Seeds, from Oregon.

I use what I have at hand to create my starters. This year, I crushed the egg shells at the bottom of the container to see if the extra calcium will do some good. I do not bother to poke holes, as the paper is porous and will leak out any extra moisture.  When the plants have grown out of them, I plant the entire pod, paper and all. 

Everything will fit and disentegrate in the ground.

You can use pots to grow vegetables.

I started my daughter with a couple of planters and a big black pot. In the planters I had spinach,lettuces and peas. In the big black pot, three kinds of tomatoes. She was hooked after that. Three things to take care of.  I showed her that an upside down water bottle with a single hole can continue to water her pot for days. 

This year, she is converting her lawn, building raised beds, and using compost she built all winter long. She'll save a few hundred dollars on food. Most importantly, she'll taste what food really tastes like when it is has not been contaminated and fussed over with chemicals.

Notice that I am trying some new Italian seeds because I was told these have not been engineered. Besides, they remind me of the special greens I had growing up in Italy: rapini, radicchio, finocchio. I even found Papaveri, poppies, that will grow to an enormous size. I'm looking forward to these experiments.

This beautiful hillside can also grow edibles for me. I have lots of herbs here and there: lavender, camomille, thyme, rosemary, oregano, sorrel, bay.

In my lower garden, I can grow peas, favas, artichokes and berries without any problems.
So, try raising something from seed.
Try including edibles among your ornamentals.

Find out what grows best in your area and indulge yourself. 

You will be rewarded!