How to Grow Lima Bean
Lima Bean 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
Lima beans need warmer soil than other beans, so wait until about 2 weeks after your last frost, when the soil has reached about 18°C (64°F). Push the seeds 3 cm deep and 15 cm apart, and do not soak them first, since cold or soggy soil makes them rot. They sprout in 7 to 18 days, and climbing types need a trellis or poles set up at sowing time.
Lima beans, also called butter beans, are easy once the weather is truly warm, but rushing them into cold soil is the most common way to lose them. They come in short bush types and tall climbing types, and like other beans they feed the soil as they grow.
When To Start
Lima Bean 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 Lima Bean?
Your planting dates depend on your local climate. Sign up and add your location to unlock personalized dates.
Your Lima Bean Planting Window
Start planting
May 15, 2026
Last chance
Sep 10, 2026
Your Lima Bean Calendar
Set your location to turn these into exact dates and reminders.
Sow lima beans outdoors once the soil is warm, about 18°C
2 weeks after your last frost
Pick lima beans when the pods are plump but still green
About 80 days after you plant it
Did you water your lima bean 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 lima bean seedlings: snip the extras at soil level so each one has room to grow.
About 28 days after you plant it
Your lima beans are growing well! Water at the base and keep the soil evenly damp.
About 45 days after you plant it
Harvest is getting close! Pick pods when they look plump and bumpy but are still green.
About 71 days after you plant it
Picking time may be here: check your lima bean.
About 80 days after you plant it
Step 2
Planting & Sprouting
Expect sprouts in 7–18 days
Growing Tips
- 1Give lima beans full sun and your warmest spot.
- 2Mix a little compost into loose soil, but skip rich feeds, since too much food gives lots of leaves and few pods.
- 3Water deeply once a week, and do not let the soil dry out while the plants flower and form pods.
- 4A little compost or worm castings around the plants when the flowers appear is all the feeding they need.
- 5Give climbing types a tall trellis or poles to grow up.
- 6Pick off bean beetles and their yellow eggs by hand, and cover young plants with row cover against early pests.
Step 3
Growth & Maturity
~80
Days to Maturity
60 cm
Mature Height
30 cm
Mature Width
Pests to Watch For
Diseases to Watch For
Step 4
Harvesting
Harvest Window
30 days
When to Pick
Pick when pods are well-filled and bumpy but still green
How to Harvest
- 1Lima beans are ready about 80 days after sowing, when the pods are plump and bumpy with beans but still green.
- 2Hold the stem with one hand and pull the pod off with the other so you do not break the plant.
- 3Keep picking every few days, and the plants keep making more pods.
- 4Split the pods open, pop out the beans, and always cook them before eating, since raw lima beans can make you sick.
- 5For dry beans, leave the last pods on the plant until they turn brown and rattle.
- 6Blanch extra fresh beans (dip them in boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes, then cold water) and freeze them, or store dry beans in a jar.
Step 5
Saving Seeds
How to Save Seeds
Lima beans mostly pollinate themselves, but bees can carry pollen between varieties, so grow just one kind or keep different varieties well apart. They do not cross with green beans or other common beans. Leave the pods on your healthiest plants until they are dry, brown and rattle, then shell out the seeds. Dry them indoors for another 1 to 2 weeks, until a seed shatters when hit with a hammer instead of denting. Store them labelled in a jar in a cool, dark, dry place, where they keep about 3 years.
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