How to Grow Edamame
Edamame At a Glance
Difficulty
Easy
Category
Vegetable
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Frost Tolerance
Frost Tender
Cold Hardiness
Survives to 4°C
Plant Family
Fabaceae
Growing Season
Warm Season
Plant Lifecycle
Annual
How to Start It
★ Recommended for beginners
Edamame hates cold, wet ground, so sow 1 to 2 weeks after your last spring frost, once the soil is warm, at least 10°C (50°F). Push the seeds 2.5 cm deep and 10 cm apart, and water them in. They sprout in 7 to 14 days and need no thinning.
Edamame is a soybean picked young, while the beans are still green and sweet. Like other beans, it feeds the soil with nitrogen (a plant food it makes with help from tiny bacteria on its roots), and the whole patch tends to ripen at once. Choose an early variety for short summers, and sow a second patch 2 weeks later for a longer picking time.
When To Start
Edamame needs warmth. Wait until your last frost has passed and the soil has warmed before sowing.
We do not have exact sowing dates for this one yet.
When should you plant Edamame?
Your planting dates depend on your local climate. Sign up and add your location to unlock personalized dates.
Your Edamame Planting Window
Start planting
May 15, 2026
Last chance
Sep 10, 2026
Your Edamame Calendar
Set your location to turn these into exact dates and reminders.
Sow edamame outdoors now that the soil is warm
1 week after your last frost
Pick edamame while the pods are plump and bright green
About 90 days after you plant it
Did you water your edamame seedlings today? Keep the top of the soil damp until they are up and growing.
About 1 days after you plant it
Time to thin the edamame seedlings: snip the extras at soil level so each one has room to grow.
About 24 days after you plant it
How is your edamame doing? Water deeply once flowers appear to help the pods fill.
About 44 days after you plant it
Edamame check! Pick the pods when they are plump and bright green.
About 74 days after you plant it
Picking time may be here: check your edamame.
About 90 days after you plant it
The Journey Ahead
Edamame's Lifecycle
Seedling
Mature Plant
Seed Production
Step 2
Planting & Sprouting
Expect sprouts in 7–14 days
Growing Tips
- 1Plant edamame in full sun, at least 6 hours a day.
- 2Loosen the soil and mix in a little compost, but skip rich feeds, since the plants make their own nitrogen.
- 3Water about once a week, and more often once the pods start to fill, because a dry spell then leaves them flat.
- 4Lay mulch around the plants to keep the soil moist and the weeds down.
- 5Rabbits and groundhogs love the young plants, so cover them with row cover or a small fence until they are well grown.
Seedling Phase
Step 3
Growth & Maturity
~90
Days to Maturity
60 cm
Mature Height
30 cm
Mature Width
Pests to Watch For
Diseases to Watch For
Mature Plant
Step 4
Harvesting
Harvest Window
14 days
When to Pick
Pick when pods are plump and bright green, still tender (~90 days)
How to Harvest
- 1Pick edamame when the pods are plump and bright green and the beans inside fill them, about 90 days after sowing.
- 2Do not wait too long, since the pods turn yellow and the beans go hard and starchy within about a week.
- 3Pull the whole plant and strip off the pods, or pick the plumpest pods by hand and leave the rest a few more days.
- 4Always cook edamame: boil the pods in salted water for about 5 minutes, then pop the beans out to eat them.
- 5Keep fresh pods in the fridge for a few days, or blanch and freeze them.
Step 5
Saving Seeds
How to Save Seeds
Soybeans pollinate themselves, so the seeds grow true as long as the variety is not a hybrid F1, and a few metres between varieties is plenty. Leave some plants unpicked until the pods turn brown and dry and the beans rattle inside. Pull the plants, shell the beans and let them dry for another week or two indoors. Store them labelled in a cool, dark, dry place, where they keep 2 to 3 years.
Seed Production
Still have a question?
Ask your coach about your edamame.
This page covers what we thought to write down. Your edamame will do something it never mentions, and that is the day a coach beats a guide. Ask Coach Lumen one question right now, free, no account.
