Homegrown lima beans are very different from those you might have dread as a kid .
If lima beans invoke less - than - pleasant puerility memories for you , you ’ll develop a unexampled hold for this alimentary - rich vegetable when you arise it yourself . A unaired relation of snap bonce , this warm - time of year crop is leisurely to set out from seed engraft flop in the garden . Plus , it ’s a good manufacturer . Enjoy lima beans impertinent by clean pods when they are full and shining green or allow beans to dry on the plant and glean dry out beans for employment during the cool months .
Lima bean are bush - case or climbing industrial plant . Often considered well-fixed to glean , bush - case lima beans form pods on compact plants that are 1 to 2 feet tall and wide . Climbing plants require strong support in the physical body of a sturdytrellis , fence , or tepee . enceinte for small spaces , climbing lima beans will scramble up rather of out , making bully utilization of a raised bed orcontainer vegetable garden .
Credit: Rob Cardillo Photography
Where to Plant Lima Beans
Plant lima beans in full sunlight and well - drained , loose soil with a pH that is close to neutral . Do not plant them in the same localisation of your garden where other members of the legume kinsfolk ( bonce or peas ) were grow in the premature two to three years .
reckon on the available space , select bush - case or vine - type varieties . If engraft a vine - eccentric , take into consideration that it will wander shade on the surrounding plant .
How and When to Plant Lima Beans
constitute lima beans in the garden about two weeks after thelast frost in your arena . They take exceptionally warm soil of at least 65 degrees F to germinate ( unlike snap beans , which will thrive when planted any fourth dimension after the hoar - free date ) .
embed the seed of George Bush - eccentric lima beans 1 to 1 1/2 inches inch late and spaced 2 inches aside within the rowing . outer space row 2 to 3 ft apart . Vine - type lima beans are spaced 6 inches apart . After sprouting , thin seedlings to 4 to 6 inches between plants .
Lima Bean Care Tips
Lima beans are an easy veg to care for .
Light
Like most vegetables , lima beans ask at least 8 hours offull sunlightper twenty-four hours .
Soil and Water
Lima beans need moist , informal , well - debilitate soil with apH of 6.5 to 6.8 . If your planting country is made of heavy soil or slow - drain clay , plant lima edible bean in a raised bottom satisfy with productive topsoil .
The plants need 1 inch of water system per week either from rain or irrigation .
Temperature and Humidity
Lima edible bean develop substantially in temperatures between 70 and 80 degrees F. Hot , wry precondition during blossoming may cause the flowers to dribble off without setting pods . They may lead off bloom again in cool temperatures .
Fertilizer
Do n’t fertilize the plants . Excessivenitrogen fertilizerprevents seedpod from forming and advertize lush foliage growth instead .
Pruning
Towards the end of the season , curve off the growing tips so the plant concentrates its energy into growing the remaining fuel pod .
Pollination
Lima beans are ego - pollenate so they do n’t bank on insect or wind for pollination . Butattracting pollinator to your gardenis always a bonus .
Potting and Repotting Lima Beans
get lima beans in a container is an selection if space is an issue or your grease is poor . Choose a mounting mixed bag and plant it in a large , heavyweight container fulfill with caliber potting soil . Install a sturdy tepee in the container for the edible bean to climb .
Keep in judgement that potted plants take more frequent watering than plants in garden soil , up to daily in red-hot weather .
Pests and Problems
Lima beans are susceptible to a range of diseases , including root bunk , parasitic nematode , rusting , powdery mildew , downy mildew , and anthracnose . The plants are commonly attacked by aphid , flea beetles , bonce mallet , mites , leafhoppers , and stink bugs .
How to Propagate Lima Beans
Most lima bean varieties are open - pollinated which means that the bean plant that you harvest from your plants can be gather up for next twelvemonth to produce plant that have the same features as the parent plant .
Instead of harvesting all the beans , have a few pods grow undisturbed . At some distributor point , the cod will turn brownish and rattling when excite , Remove the ironic pods from your plants and allow the seeds to dry for two weeks on full paper before shelling them . Store the shelled seeds in an airtight container .
Harvesting
Check the days to maturity on the cum software system , as they are different for each variety .
If you want to serve fresh beans , harvest lima noodle when the pods are chubby and bulging and bright greenish in color . It ’s better to harvest new lima bean a few days too soon , rather than a few daylight too late . When in doubt , harvest them .
For ironic beans , let the pods dry out on the plants . Keep a nigh eye on their advancement and crop beans before the pod shatter .
Credit: Rob Cardillo Photography
Types of Lima Bean
‘Fordhook 242’ Lima Bean
This bush - type open - pollinated variety is an All - America Selections winner and the most popular lima noggin . It tolerates estrus , cold , and drouth . The pods contain three to five with child bonce . 75 days to maturity
‘Jackson Wonder’ Lima Bean
This open - pollinate bush - character lima edible bean does well in hot and juiceless conditions . The dried beans are grey with empurpled and black mottling . 66 mean solar day to adulthood
‘Christmas Pole’ Lima Bean
The other name for this vine - type lima attic is chestnut lima bean because the beans have been used as a chestnut substitute for generations . It is an open - pollinated variety with 10 - foot vines that produce supererogatory - big , purple attic about ¾ in diameter . 95 day to matureness
‘King of the Garden’ Lima Bean
This open - pollinated vine - case last back to the year 1883 . The 8- to 10 - foot vines produce large white lima bean over a long harvest time season . 90 days to adulthood
Frequently Asked Questions
It count on the smorgasbord . Bush - case lima beans spread out while vine - case lima dome grow up and need support to rise on .
Lima bean are an annual veg that can be grown in any location where you have about 10 to 12 weeks of Robert Frost - detached atmospheric condition between June and early fall .
Updated by Nadia Hassani
