Vigna angularis
Adzuki bean
Common names: Aduki bean, Rice bean
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Spacing
- 10 cm, rows 40 cm
- Lifespan
- Annual
- Sowing
- May–Jun
- Harvest
- Sep–Oct
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below 2 °C
- Water need
- Medium
Photo: Sanjay Acharya · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
The adzuki bean, botanically Vigna angularis, originates from East Asia and produces small, reddish‑brown seeds with a fine, mildly sweet flavor. It is a heat‑loving, predominantly bushy bean that is grown as an annual summer crop in the DACH region, requiring full sun and a sheltered location. As a legume, it fixes nitrogen in the soil through root nodules and is well suited as a cover crop for nitrogen‑hungry vegetables. The mature dry kernels are harvested, can be stored for long periods when dried, and are widely used in Asian cuisine.
Care instructions
Sow the adzuki bean after the last frost, around mid‑May (week 20), once the soil is consistently warm. It prefers loose, humus‑rich soil and even moisture but does not tolerate waterlogging. The plant grows mainly bushy and usually does not need support. Regularly weed around young plants to allow unobstructed growth. Allow the pods to dry completely on the plant at the end of the season, typically from September onward, before harvesting and dehusking the beans.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingMay–Jun
HarvestSep–Oct
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 15 °C, ideally 25 °C
- Days to sprout
- 5 to 10 days
- Light
- Sprouts in light or dark
- Sowing depth
- 3 cm
- How to start
- Sow straight into the bed
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
well-drained, humus-rich, nutrient-rich, sandy
The adzuki bean likes loose, well-drained soil that warms up quickly in summer. Heavy, waterlogged soils slow germination and encourage root rot. A humus-rich, nutrient-rich garden soil with good structure is perfectly adequate for it.
After legumes such as the adzuki bean, heavy feeders benefit from the nitrogen enriched in the soil. Grow adzuki beans on the same plot again after 4 years at the earliest.
Feeding
Light feeder
As a legume, the adzuki bean fixes nitrogen from the air through its root nodules and so largely supplies itself. A starter dose of mature compost at planting is perfectly sufficient; more feeding tends to produce leaf rather than pods. If you like, work some rotted manure into the bed the autumn before.
Overwintering
The adzuki bean is frost-tender and does not survive a winter outdoors. After harvesting in late summer or early autumn, clear the plant remains from the bed and let dry seeds ripen further for the next sowing. The following year needs a completely new sowing from mid-May.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
You grow adzuki beans exclusively from seed, best sown directly outdoors from mid-May · week 20, once the soil has warmed to at least 12 degrees. The seeds go about 3 to 4 cm deep into the soil, with a row spacing of 40 to 50 cm. In cool weather it is worth starting them on the windowsill from April; the young plants move out to the bed after the Ice Saints (mid-May). Even moisture speeds up germination, which becomes visible after about one to two weeks.
Companion planting
Good neighbors
cabbage family (Brassicaceae)
particularly well establishedLeguminous plants collect nitrogen in the soil, from which Brassicaceae benefit as heavy feeders.
For example White cabbageKohlrabiRadishKalebroccolicauliflower and 41 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
carrot family (Apiaceae)
Peas and beans provide carrot and celery with nitrogen and grow as shallow-rooted plants without competition next to each other.
For example CarrotCeleriacDillParsleyFlorence fennelCoriander and 21 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
Rather not
amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae)
particularly well establishedAllium species inhibit the nitrogen‑fixing rhizobia of legumes through their root exudates, which slows their growth.
For example GarlicOnionLeekChivesWild daffodilRocambole and 12 more species in the catalogue
Source: basic crop‑rotation rule
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
For your garden
Grow Adzuki bean yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
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