The fava beans are up, and this morning in the heavy dew their leaves are flopping over like droopy dog ears. Instead of waiting to eat their beans, you can cut the tops off the plants and use them as vegetables in stir fry dishes.

Some varieties of fava beans can overwinter in our cool winter. One winter they provided us with a steady supply of fresh greens into January, even when it was snowing, until a bitter freeze did them in. I’ll be taking some to this Saturday’s Harvest Market and Food Swap at Belfast Feed Store, an annual event put on by Bow Little Market.