Phaseolus lunatus
Lima bean
Common names: Moon bean, Butter bean, Madagascar bean
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Spacing
- 12 cm, rows 60 cm
- Lifespan
- Annual
- Sowing
- May–Jun
- Harvest
- Sep–Oct
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below 2 °C
- Water need
- Medium
This description was machine-translated.
Description
The Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus) produces large, flat, crescent‑shaped seeds with a buttery, mild texture. It thrives in warmth and requires a long growing season, so it needs a protected, full‑sun location in the garden. Raw beans contain cyanogenic precursors and must be cooked thoroughly before consumption.
Care instructions
Start seeds indoors in a warm pot in May, then transplant the climbing plants to a tall trellis in the warmest spot of the garden from mid‑May onward. Keep the soil consistently moist and provide wind protection. Harvest the pods for fresh beans when the seeds are well developed, or allow them to fully mature and dry for large dry 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
- 7 to 14 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
humus-rich, well-drained, loamy, nutrient-rich
Lima beans want loose, deep soil that drains water well. The plant does not tolerate waterlogging, which leads to root rot. It grows best in humus-rich, slightly loamy garden soil with good structure; a moderately nutrient-rich soil is enough, because very rich soil promotes leaves at the expense of pods.
Legumes collect nitrogen via nodule bacteria and are an ideal preceding crop for heavy feeders; they themselves need a break of about 4 years in the same place.
Feeding
Light feeder
Months
Apr–May
As a legume, the lima bean lives together with nitrogen-fixing nodule bacteria and largely supplies itself. Nitrogen feeding is unnecessary and even disturbs nodule formation. Before sowing in spring, work mature compost in shallowly; this improves the soil structure and supplies enough nutrients. During the growing phase no further feeding is needed.
Overwintering
The lima bean is an annual warmth-loving plant and dies with the first frost. You do not overwinter the plant itself. Harvest ripe pods before the first autumn frost, let the seeds finish ripening in an airy, dry place and store them cool in paper bags, to sow them again after the Ice Saints in mid-May.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
You propagate the lima bean exclusively from seed. Vegetative methods are not practical for this annual legume. Sow directly outdoors only after the Ice Saints (from mid-May), when the soil is warm enough and no more night frosts threaten. Since the lima bean needs much more warmth than the common garden bean, in Central European sites with short summers it is worth starting plants indoors or in the greenhouse from the end of April: place one seed 2 to 3 cm deep in individual pots (8 to 10 cm) and keep them warm (ideally 22 to 25 °C). Germination takes place within 7 to 10 days. Sow climbing varieties outdoors with 6 to 8 seeds per pole, row spacing 100 to 120 cm, spacing within the row 40 to 50 cm. If you want to save your own seed, leave a few pods to ripen fully on the plant and turn brown until the pods rattle. Then remove the seeds, dry them further and store them cool and dry. With enough distance from other Phaseolus species, the variety then stays largely true to type.
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)
gourd family (Cucurbitaceae)
Beans and peas enrich the soil with nitrogen, which cucurbits, as heavy feeders, can make good use of.
For example CourgettePickling cucumberButternutHokkaidoPatissonSpaghetti squash and 13 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 ChivesWild daffodilRocamboleElephant garlicRed OnionShallot and 9 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.
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