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amisoup

Lima Beans not producing anything

Amisoup
11 years ago

I have limas planted that have yet to produce a single pod. I'd say I have about 20 plants, and black eyed peas in the same bed, and the BEP are throwing out pods every day. I know the Limas are a slower producer, but this has been going on for about month. Any ideas or tips? They are in a raised bed with Mel's Mix, get sun for 60% of the day, and mulched. I've added Bone Meal to the bed and that's it for fertilizer, other than the compost in the mix.

Thanks in advance!

Comments (13)

  • farmerdill
    11 years ago

    What variety? Baby limas (Henderson's, Cangreen, Wood's Prolific, Jackson Wonder, Dixie Butterpeas, Baby Fordhook, etc are easy to grow. They do not tolerate an acidic soil, but that's about it. They do need heat and full sun, so you may be short in that department. On the other hand the large bush limas like Big Six, Big Momma,etc need almost perfect conditions to set. Pole versions like King of the Garden, Calico etc do better but still are less reliable then pole baby limas.
    {{gwi:109647}} {{gwi:94939}}

  • jimster
    11 years ago

    "I have limas planted that have yet to produce a single pod."

    Have they produced any blossoms?

    Jim

  • Amisoup
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    YES, they have flowers. Should I be hand pollinating them? I planted them from the grocery store.... is that my problem?

  • farmerdill
    11 years ago

    not likely and they are totally self pollinating. best guess if they are baby limas is lack of sun. They like 12-16 hours. Could be soil is too acidic also.

  • jimster
    11 years ago

    One possibility is that they are just very late in developing.

    Are there any miniscule beans among the blossoms? If so, you will have beans eventually. If not, you have a problem.

    Jim

  • Amisoup
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I have inspected the blossoms as close as I can, but I don't see any tiny beans... I may just let them go for another 1-2 weeks and pull them if I don't see any development... Thank you for replying everyone! They get plenty of sun, and the soil is an almost exact 30/30/30 split of mel's mix, brand new.

  • jolj
    11 years ago

    farmerdill, I live in Midlands of S.C., we have acidic soil & my Father planted & harvested butter beans & butter peas every year. Was it the variety or did he do something I did not know about. My Father pasted 10 years ago or I would ask him myself.

  • farmerdill
    11 years ago

    The baby limas (the butterpeas fit into that category) are quite dependable. Even they do better in a neutral soil, so I expect that your father applied lime to his bean patch. Most folks in this area lime their fields each year or so. Exceptions are blueberries and Irish potatoes if scab is present.

  • jimster
    11 years ago

    I have successfully grown Dixie Speckled Butterpeas, Jackson Wonder (bush), King of the Garden (pole), Giant Speckled (pole) and White Willow Leaf (pole) here on Cape Cod. My neighbor grows a large patch of Ford Hook (bush) limas every year. His plants are just loaded with big pods this year and are still blooming profusely.

    Limas have the reputation of being unreliable in northern latitudes but we have no problems. Of course, we are at the extreme tip of zone 7, but I don't think zone has a lot to do with that. It just means we have mild winters.

    Jim

  • zeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin
    11 years ago

    "Limas have the reputation of being unreliable in northern latitudes..."

    There is truth to that. They are unreliable here, if direct seeded. With the use of transplants, however, I can grow many varieties successfully that would otherwise be "iffy" for my Northern location.

    Limas are doing extraordinarily well for me this year, thanks to an early start & all of the extra summer heat. When I saw the heat in the long-term forecast, I increased my planting of "Mottled Sieva" (pole) to 75 feet of row. Glad I did. So far, I have harvested about 2 pounds of dry seed, and the vines are just getting started.

  • Amisoup
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Result - never got a bean or pod, and pulled the plants. I've got Nitrogen now though! Maybe next year...

  • jimster
    11 years ago

    "I've got Nitrogen now though!"

    Yes, but perhaps not so much as you want. See the helpful article linked below.

    Jim

    Here is a link that might be useful: Nitrogen FIxation By Legumes

  • HU-242934698
    last year

    We have planted King of the Garden limas for over 20 years and usually get over 100 pints. This year we got 6 pints. They were loaded with blossoms. Same thing happened to the Fordhook Limas--blossoms but very few beans.

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