At the end of the LA Garden show earlier this spring, my booth neighbor and fellow Gardenerd, Nysha Dalgren of Ardenwoods Edibles let me choose a plant or two to take home. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to try something new, and the tiny tendrils of a Christmas Lima Bean plant were calling out to me.
When I got home, I tucked the plant in behind a cluster of popping corn and waited for it to take hold. This was my attempt at 2 out of 3 of the Three Sisters Garden of native American tradition. Before long, the bean plant had overtaken the dried corn stalks, so I had to add a trusty trellis for added support.
This is one plant. Photo taken in September 2010.
At this writing the trellis is completely covered with vines.
Soon the vine began to flower and form pods – broad, flat pods with delicious potential.
Flowers and young pods
Every day I would wander out to see if any pods were dry. Some pods near the bottom had started to dry out. The beans inside rattled excitedly.
Christmas Lima Bean pod drying out
As more pods have dried out, the little handful or beans in the kitchen continues to grow. The plant is still in full swing, but we expect a very good yield from our one little plant.
Christmas Lima Beans are flat fava or lima-sized beans with burgundy spots, a potato texture and a chestnut taste.
So if you feel like trying something different next spring/summer, give Christmas Lima Beans a try. You won’t be disappointed. We’ll update this post when we get a final count on the harvest later this season.
Got beans? What do you do with them? Share your favorite ways with us here.
I started with 5 beans and have shared 100’s of fresh and dried beans. I live in Hawaii and can get two harvests each year. I love them. I cook them and eat them with salt, pepper and butter. I’ll place leftovers in fridge and throw into green salads. These beans are delicious in soups. My friends mom shared this recipe that she cooks often.
1 lb Christmas Lima beans
5 cups water
Bring to boil, turn off heat, let stand 10 min.
Add:
3/4 c white sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
1 tsp salt
Bring back to Simmer until soft
Eat hot or cold.
Sounds delicious, Rose. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Gardenerd,
I have planted Christmas lima beans, thanks to your blog posts, and now have two vines, each about 14 inches tall. The weather has been warm—low 80s—and I have watered them well, every other day. My question is, what can I do to help the leaves green up? They are quite pale, so I put some organic fertilizer on top of the soil and watered it, but the leaves still are pale. Do you have any other suggestions? The soil is a nice, light mixture.
Sincerely,
Liz Bottman
Seattle, Washington
Hi Liz,
I would suggest cutting back on water. Yellow or pale leaves can often indicate overwatering. If the roots are sitting in water, they can suffocate. The lack of oxygen contributes to photosynthesis problems. Those leaves may not green up, but fall off instead, but don’t worry, new growth will replace the old if that’s the case.