A good selection for containers and small gardens also. Lima Bush beans are very simple to grow; they do well in most gardens and in most soil types. They should be directly seeded when soil reaches 65-75F, and there is no longer a risk for a frost.

In order to have fresh beans all summer, reseed your bush bean patch every two weeks and pick them frequently. If you are using an untreated bush bean seed, plant them thicker than usual, and later thin them to the desired density.

Lima Bush beans grow excellent with all vegetables except the onion family, fennel, basil and kohlrabi.

Maturity days are the best way to know when to pick your bush beans. A mature bush bean feels smooth, firm and crisp.
A/P: Annual
USDA Zones: 3-9
How to Grow: Direct Sow
Sun/Shade: Full sun
Soil Type: Garden type, well-drained, pH 6.1 - 7.3
Planting Directions: Minium Soil Temperature: 70F
Average Germ Time: 14 - 21 days
Depth: 1 to 1.5 inches
Seed Spacing: 10 inches
Row Spacing 36 inches
Yeild: A 100 ft. row will produce about 24 lbs. of fresh beans.
Limas are very sensitive to cold weather, much less frost.

Test your soil and provide growing lima beans with a soil pH of 6.

Plant in spring a few weeks after planting snap beans until early summer.

Leave a distance between plants of 10 inches.

Rows should be spaced 3 feet apart.

Keep soil moist during germination.

Once the lima beans reach around six inches high, apply manure as side dressing.

Place natural fertilizer on either side of the plant, no closer than 2 inches, to prevent burning by direct contact. This is especially true of chicken manure, which should only be used for digging in the soil in the fall for next year's planting. Mulch topsoil to maintain moisture.

Lima beans are ready when the beans are prominent in the pods. For dried lima beans, gather pods when they have turned brown and the seeds rattle inside.