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Lima Beans not producing anything
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Posted by
Amisoup none (
My Page) on
Tue, Aug 28, 12 at 19:20
| 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! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Lima Beans not producing anything
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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.
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RE: Lima Beans not producing anything
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| "I have limas planted that have yet to produce a single pod." Have they produced any blossoms? Jim |
RE: Lima Beans not producing anything
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| YES, they have flowers. Should I be hand pollinating them? I planted them from the grocery store.... is that my problem? |
RE: Lima Beans not producing anything
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| 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. |
RE: Lima Beans not producing anything
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| 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 |
RE: Lima Beans not producing anything
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| 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. |
RE: Lima Beans not producing anything
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- Posted by jolj 7b/8a-S.C.,USA (My Page) on
Sat, Sep 1, 12 at 19:46
| 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. |
RE: Lima Beans not producing anything
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| 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. |
RE: Lima Beans not producing anything
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| 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 |
RE: Lima Beans not producing anything
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| "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. |
RE: Lima Beans not producing anything
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| Result - never got a bean or pod, and pulled the plants. I've got Nitrogen now though! Maybe next year... |
RE: Lima Beans not producing anything
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| "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
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