5 Types and Varieties of the Most Famous Broad Beans

The Bean is a plant of the Fabaceae family that has been cultivated in the world since time immemorial for consumption by humans and animals.

Broad beans are undemanding plants in cultivation and the Spanish ones are known for their undeniable quality. Broad beans do not require much fertilizer, but they do require the proper supply of potassium and phosphorous.

Sowing can be done directly in the ground, or in rows sowing three seeds at once.Some of the most representative varieties of Spanish beans are the following:

Grenadine

The cultivation of broad beans in Granada is a source of pride for farmers, due to the quality of the product. They are juicy, tender and tasty beans. Due to their rusticity, they are easy to grow.

They are sown in December and take a long time to grow, but they can withstand winter cold, even snowfall.

With the onset of spring they grow quickly and by April or May we will see the fruits of our labor.This variety is intended for consumption in green, but also in seeds, which are large.

It is the favorite dish of Granada on May 25, in the festivity of San Marcos, when it is common to consume green beans with dried cod, bread and wine.The same thing happens in the municipality of Cenes de la Vega, where the Day of the Bean has been celebrated for four years.

Sweet or Seville water

This variety is of medium precocity and measures more than a meter in height. It is vigorous and has large leaves; its fruits are long hanging pods that can reach up to 35 centimeters in length.

The leaves have gray-green leaflets on the underside. Its stems, which are robust without ramifications on the back, are violet in color and its grains are toasted cream.

It is sown in half a year, from September to February, in the ground with trickles or bumps of up to four seeds every 30 cm, and in rows every 60 cm at a depth of 5 cm.The harvest will take place in 120 to 200 days.

White and purple mahon

It is the most resistant to drought, but very sensitive to frost.It is white and purple, the white has reddish grains and the purple has violet ones.

The mahón bean can reach a meter in height; It is used for human consumption and for livestock consumption.It has little or no predisposition to tillering. Its pods, which grow semi-upright, are narrow and have six seeds.

Muchamiel

Medium-sized early plant, white flowers with black spots, hanging pods of 15-20 centimeters, toasted cream-colored grains and reddish stems.It is the most cultivated bean in Spain.

Of Alicante origin (its name is due to the town of Muchamiel in that region of the Valencian Community) it is an early variety intended for greening.

It is also known by the name of quarantine because it is sown in September and in forty days we will have the delicious broad beans on the table, suitable for consumption.Its normal vegetative cycle until seed maturation is 200 days.It is one of the most recommended varieties for urban gardens.

Moonlight

New variety of great precocity, to the point that it is the reference for early broad bean cultivation, as it is capable of fruiting in short days, to the point that if we sow it in August we will be able to obtain pods at the end of September.

It is a very sensitive plant, with a very elongated pod, slightly curved, 26 cm long; its color is intense green with 6-7 grains per pod, very sweet.