San Ildefonso

San Ildefonso is a Pueblo fava, originally collected at San Ildefonso Pueblo in New Mexico and now held in the Native Seeds/SEARCH Seed Bank Collection. Unlike most habas circulating in the Southwest, it is documented as a high-desert bean that nevertheless takes to low-desert winter culture, which is why NS/S grows it out in Tucson rather than only at elevation. Plants stay comparatively short for a fava at 1.5 to 2.5 feet, so it does not need the staking that four-foot commercial types often do in wind. Seeds are light green and on the large side. NS/S rates the plants hardy down to 20 degrees F, the trait that makes this one a candidate for a fall-sown, overwintered nitrogen-fixing block in zones where winter favas are marginal.