Can you plant fava beans and lettuce together?

Yes. Fava beans and lettuce grow well together. A shared bed gave about 28% more harvest than separate beds in one field trial. That rests on a single study, so treat it as a lead, not a rule.

Why fava beans and lettuce work together

More harvest from the same bed. In one field trial, a bed with both crops gave about 28% more harvest than the same space split into a fava bean bed and a lettuce bed.
The Effects of Crop Combination and Row Arrangement in the lntercropping of Lettuce, Favabean and Pea on Weed Biomass and Diversity and on Crop Yields (Sharaiha · 1992)

What to plant with fava beans and lettuce

Good neighbours of both, best tested first.

CarrotWith fava beans: Bigger combined harvestWith lettuce: 78% more harvest

How each one was tested, with the evidence

What to keep away from fava beans and lettuce

CeleryWith lettuce: Garden charts advise against it, not tested
ParsleyWith lettuce: Garden charts advise against it, not tested

The evidence in detail

For readers who want to dig in: every chart entry, study and yield trial behind the answer above, with the numbers.

Tradition, research and yield trials

Tradition

No chart mentions this pair.

Research

No papers found on this pair.

Yield trial

Good

No per-crop split reported in these trials.

1 field trial. Published LERs lean high.

Good neighbours

What happens above and below ground

Each animation illustrates a mechanism a study reported for this pair. Pick a card to focus on it.

Everything at once.

Companion plants for both fava beans and lettuce

Plants that are good neighbours of each. Biggest harvest gain first; each cell links to the evidence for that pair.

Plant	With fava beans	With lettuce
Carrot	Bigger combined harvestField trial, 1 study. Charts: not listed.Evidence for fava beans and carrots	78% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 1 study. Charts: recommend.Evidence for lettuce and carrots

Harvest from the same space compares a bed with both crops against the same area split into single-crop beds, counting the harvest of both crops (the land equivalent ratio in yield trials).

The evidence, with sources

Yield trialGood1 entry

GoodLER 1.28field trial

USA, 1990; Replacement design; median LER 1.29 over 8 treatment(s)
The Effects of Crop Combination and Row Arrangement in the lntercropping of Lettuce, Favabean and Pea on Weed Biomass and Diversity and on Crop Yields (Sharaiha · 1992)

Plan a bed with fava beans and lettuce

All neighbours of fava bean and of lettuce, or every pair at once in the companion planting chart.

Have you grown fava beans and lettuce together?

Tell other gardeners what happened: spacing, pests, harvest, or ask a question. Reader notes are not checked by us and do not change the verdicts on this page.