LIMA BEANS

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Has anyone grown lima beans and let the pods dry on the plant? I love dry limas but I do not care for the green limas, are they the same plant? When I plant black eye peas I just go to the grocery store and buy a bag of dryed peas and plant them can I do the same with limas? The black eyes I pick green and put them up in the freezer. I perfer the green black eyes over the dry.

-- Mark (deadgoatman@webtv.net), May 07, 2000

Answers

Mark, I haven't grown either one, but have grown just about everything else!! It is going to depend on where you live, and what your growing season is like. If you are north, with a short growing season, you should probably look through the seed catalogs for a variety of lima adapted to a shorter, cooler growing season. The ones at the store were most likely grown in their prime climate range -- if you happen to be in good lima bean climate, they should do well, but probably not if you are marginal. We are in New Hampshire, and have grown Maine Yellow Eye and Jacob's Cattle Beans from store-bought seed -- but the beans had been grown in Maine, so we knew they would do okay here.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), May 07, 2000.

I live in Central Florida, I have good luck with te black eyes. The black eyes I bought in the grocery store were not intended for seed but to eat, but they always grow well.

-- Mark (deadgoatman@webtv.net), May 07, 2000.

If you are in Florida, then you shouldn't have any problem with buying the limas from the store. The beans we bought were meant to eat, too -- much cheaper to buy bulk seed that way than in packets from a seed supplier.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), May 07, 2000.

If the dry eating beans are a hybrid they may not grow true. You can dry them on the vine. You will want Jackson Wonder because Henderson Bush does not dry well.

-- Vaughn (vdcjm5@juno.com), May 07, 2000.

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