How To Grow Lima Beans In Your Garden – Beginner’s Guide
Also known as chad beans and butter beans, Lima beans grow as other green beans, such as P. vulgaris. However, these beans take some time to mature. Its smaller varieties mature quickly. That’s why you tend to see baby lima beans more often in the market as compared to the larger varieties.
Lima beans feature the similar compound leaves that you find on other green beans. The plant features three oval leaflets (trifoliate), which are around 2-3 inches in length. Its flowers are yellow or white, which form a loose cluster. The subsequent pods are flatter and curves than the ones of common beans.
Growers have been cultivating lima beans in their namesake Lima in Peru for over 600 years. The varieties of lima beans are rich in several vitamins, minerals, and protein. One can use these beans as dried, frozen, or fresh. Now, let’s see how to grow lima beans in our gardens!
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Different Varieties of Lima Beans
Growers are working continually for improving yields and coming up with short-season lima bean varieties. Some bean varieties are best for warm-season, long climates, while some are great for more temperate zones. Also, there are various heirloom bean varieties that still exist along with the new varieties. Broadly, there are two main varieties of lima beans:
Pole Lima Beans: Prizetaker (takes 90 days), Carolina (takes 79 days), Aubrey Deans (takes 87 days), Florida Butter (takes 85 days), Christmas (takes 88 days), King of the Garden (takes 90 days), and Illinois Giant (takes 86 days).
Bush Lima Beans:Potato Lima (takes 75 days), Excel Northern Fresh (takes 72 days), Fordhook Improved (takes 75 days), Willow-Leaf White (takes 86 days), Jackson Wonder (takes 65 days), Baby Bush (takes 67 days), and Henderson Bush (takes 65 days).
How to Grow Lima Beans In Your Garden
Both pole and bush varieties of lima beans are easily available. Like other green beans, the bust varieties soon start to set pods. Bush varieties grow about 2-3 inches in length and require stalking if they get covered with pods. Also, pole beans will require sturdy support because the vines could grow more than 10 feet and become too heavy with pods.
If you are growing lima beans in your garden, just plant 4-6 lima bean seeds on both sides of a teepee or trellis. Bush beans also tend to set the whole crop at once, so growers will be able to harvest them for some weeks. If you want to prolong your harvesting, then it is best to plant a row every 3-4 weeks in succession.
Otherwise, gardeners can grow both pole and bush varieties. In this way, they can begin the season with early maturing bush lima beans and continue to harvest from the pole lime beans throughout summer.
Growing Lima Beans from Seeds
Gardeners can directly sow the big seeds of lima beans about 1-2 inches deep. It is best to plant the seeds around 4-6 inches apart. You can even scatter the butter bean seeds in a row and thin them later, if required.
If you like to have pole lima beans and prefer a shorter season, you can start the seeds indoors in paper or peat pots about 3-4 weeks before the last frost date. Or else, warm your soil using a layer of black plastic in the spring and then, sow the lima bean seed with protection around seedlings, like row covers or windbreaks of straw bales or plastic.
The soil requires to be around 65 degrees Fahrenheit for great germination. Wait for about 2-3 weeks after the last frost date to sow directly if you are going to pre-warm the soil.
Check out this video to see how to grow lima beans.
How to Grow Lima Beans in a Container
Home growers can have the lima bean plant in a container. However, you may require some containers for a proper practical harvest. Lima beans will thrive perfectly well in an 8-inch container.
To grow lima beans, you will require a spot receiving full sun for getting the most out of your beans. They require warm temperatures. Also, the full sun will keep the plant’s vines less vulnerable to fungal problems and dry.
Taking Care of Lima Beans
Soil
Lima bean varieties do not require excessively rich soil. The soil needs to be temperately rich in organic matter and well-draining. Do not use heavy clay soil as it can pose problems to the expansive, deep roots of lima beans. Also, do not let them sit in damp, wet soil. The pH needs to be neutral between 6.0 and 6.8.
Water
You have to go for moist soil until germination. Also, ensure that your plants get an inch of water every week. In dry, hot weather, you need to water frequently and even mulch around the roots for keeping the soil cool. Take extra care when the plants flower and begin setting pods. If they experience drought then, the plants are going to drop them.
Humidity and Temperature
These plants are quite temperamental when it comes to temperature. Lima beans do not like extreme weather conditions. These non-frost-hardy plants thrive well in weather that stays about 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Lima beans like warm climates better than prolonged cold temperatures.
Fertilizer
Generally, legumes do not require extra fertilizer, particularly when the soil is rich. As lima beans feature a longer growing season, it is best to give them mid-season a dose of composted manure, compost, or organic fertilizer.
Harvesting
After sowing, bush lima varieties will be set to harvest in 60-80 days, while pole varieties take around 85-90 days. You need to pick lima beans when the pods are firm and plump. You have to continue picking pods as early as they turn plump for extending flowering and having new pods. When the seeds mature, your lima bean plant is going to die. Bush lima varieties produce two or three pickings each season.
Common Pests and Diseases
Flea beetles, mites, leafhoppers, bean beetles, and aphids can attack your lima beans. Aphids could spread the mosaic virus. So, keep your garden always clean and free from debris. In this way, pests cannot over-winter or harbor in your garden.
Lima beans are vulnerable to mosaic, anthracnose, and blight. It is recommended to plant disease-resistant bean varieties. Do not handle plants if wet so as to avoid the spreading of fungal spores. These plants are prone to various soil-borne diseases. To reduce these diseases, it is best to rotate beans and avoid growing them in the same location for over three years.
Conclusion
So, this is all about how to grow lima beans in your garden. You can grow them from seeds. Also, they can be grown in a container. It is best to choose a site that receives full sun throughout the day. To grow lima beans, you have to choose well-draining soil. Also, keep in mind all the points listed here to take proper care of your lima bean plants. If you still have questions regarding how to grow these plants, post them in the comment section below.
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