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.
Thanks for the recipe idea. I’ve only eaten them with the skins on. Delicious either way! BTW – those are pretty pictures on your blog there. Thanks for sharing.
Those are the same beans we grew over the summer at OVF. See them here: http://www.farmwithaview.com/out-with-the-old/. I called them our mystery lima beans; an OVF gardener gave us a couple of dried pods earlier in the year, to plant. They grow might quick. We sauteed the beans in a little butter (removed the speckled skins) for a delicious side dish, and also made succotash. We still have several pounds of beans stored away!
Ok, I know this is off topic, but I LOVE your granite countertop.
I’ve been wanting to look into some good fall and winter crops. I always leave my garden dormant until spring planting, but I think it’s time to change that.
Here’s a great recipe for Christmas Lima Beans and Quinoa, published by the Washington Post a few years ago:
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/recipes/2008/09/10/christmas-lima-beans-and-quinoa/
Those little beans are gorgeous!