Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Lima bean, butter bean (
Phaseolus lunatus
)
Asparagus pea, winged bean (
Tetragonolobus purpureus
)
Mung bean (
Vigna radiata
)
GROWING FOR SEED
For all these legumes, start seed indoors two to four weeks before the last anti-
cipated spring frost and plant out after the last frost, unless you live in a Mediterranean climate or
warmer. Hyacinth and lima bean seeds typically ripen in mid to late summer. Cowpeas and especially
mung beans need a particularly long summer in order to ripen. Only the mung bean needs to be grown
indoors in central Europe (zones 5 to 7) to reliably produce ripe seed. Asparagus peas are the least
picky of this group as far as climate is concerned. For most of these beans, there are bush as well as
climbing varieties. If seeds of the variety you are growing do not ripen because the season was not
long enough, try a variety that is more suited to your locale.
