Lima Bean
vegetable
Needs warm soil (65°F+) to germinate reliably. Do not overwater during flowering or pods will drop. Harvest when pods are plump but still green.
At a glance
- USDA Zones
- 3–10
- Sun
- Full sun (6+ hrs)
- Water
- Medium — water when top inch of soil is dry
- Soil
- Loam, sandy
- pH
- Neutral
- Spacing
- 6 in. between plants
- Per square foot
- 4 plants per square
- Days to maturity
- About 75 days
Planting & harvest windows
Northern Hemisphere timing. Adjust ±4–6 weeks based on your last/first frost dates.
| Activity | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plant | ||||||||||||
| Harvest |
Plant Harvest
Good companions
Keep apart from
Recommended varieties
- Fordhook 24275 daysseed
Classic large-seeded butter bean — the standard bush lima.
- Henderson65 daysseed
Prolific small-seeded baby lima — earlier and very productive.
- King of the Garden88 daysseed
Heirloom pole lima with large creamy beans.
Add Lima Bean to your raised bed — the planner handles spacing and companion warnings automatically.
Open the planner →