Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
tracydr

How hot do Limas need the soil?

tracydr
12 years ago

So, I planted beans about two months ago. Gave up on my Christmas Limas since only a few germinated, they were sickly and all but one was eaten by pill bugs.

Now, two months later, I see a row popping up!

I'm still waiting on a dark variety of Lima, can't even remember the name but the seeds are still in the soil, not rotted and not sprouting yet so I still have hope.

My okra, cukes, southern peas and asparagus beans are all growing. So how hot do Limas really need it to be?

Comments (10)

  • wertach zone 7-B SC
    12 years ago

    I don't know the actual temps the Christmas limas need, but I do know they need a lot of water to sprout. The seed is very big, so I soak mine before and wait for signs of sprouting before planting and I also wait until after it stays the 60's at night.

  • tracydr
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    We've had unusually chilly nights her. The planting calendars say to plant Limas in March and April but this year our nights have been in the 50s with a few in the mid-40s, even just last week.
    My okra didn't germinate well either and is just now starting to grow.

  • wertach zone 7-B SC
    12 years ago

    I planted my okra April 15th, the suggested day here and had very good germination. I had been having night temps in the upper 50s low 60s until last week. I planted my Christmas limas 2 weeks ago then got the cold spell.

    The okra stopped growing but is picking up now, its been hot for the last few days. I was getting ready to replant today and I see a few breaking the ground so I am holding off.

    It seems like they take a long time to come up every year and the cold snap didn't help! Maybe because they are so big? My other lima types, dixie butter pea, and the black jungle butter pea are doing great but they are a smaller seed. My Hercules (southern peas) are growing great also.

    I don't know about your climate, but I have planted the CL's in June here and they have done well. I live in the Piedmont area of SC, close to the mountains. I have noticed that the micro climate in the mountains produce better yields of limas than my area, 20 miles away. Or maybe they are better farmers?

    I think they call them Christmas Limas because they take sooooo long to come up and produce! Like when I was a kid... Christmas took forever to get here!

  • fusion_power
    12 years ago

    Wertach, I suspect they were named christmas limas because of the red and white colors.

    DarJones

  • wertach zone 7-B SC
    12 years ago

    I know, I was joking.

  • tracydr
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    My okra has just this week started really growing. Same with the cukes.

  • happyday
    12 years ago

    Same here, my peas have grown over a foot in the last week, seems like in the past I would have had 3-4 foot vines and peas to eat by now, but they are only about 18 inches tall at the most.

  • tracydr
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    This weather is weird. Sunday, we are having a low of 60. I think our normal lows this time of year are closer to the mid 70s. Not that I'm complaining! I'd be happy to go on eating cooler weather stuff all year if I didn't have to put up with AZ summers.
    Counting the days until my husband graduates with his doctorate degree. Two more summers, I can do it. That means two more nice winters!
    At least we're now enjoying tomatoes, basil and eggplant. Will soon have southern peas, yard longs and cukes from the looks of it. Plenty of jalape�os for salsa, too.

  • forpityssake
    12 years ago

    I never plant mine until it's a minimum of 50 degrees at night. I always plant a slew of 'em, in case of an early frost/freeze, when I have to plant them late in the spring...due to cool nights...kinda like this year has been so far.

    I'm in hopes of getting them in the ground by the end of the first week in June.

  • tracydr
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Recently, a bunch of the Christmas Lima popped up! I was shocked! I also noticed, in my raised beds the Limas didn't sprout until this week, a full month after they were plante. We've had unusually cool nights, low sixties and even fifties. Daytime highs in the nineties but only for a few hours. I suspect the soil is cooler than I though. Just this week, the southern peas, yard longs and melons really took off.

Sponsored
Buckeye Restoration & Remodeling Inc.
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars7 Reviews
Central Ohio's Premier Home Remodelers Since 1996