Trellising Climbing Lima Beans

FatBeeFarm · #1

Just had butter beans for the first time last fall and I've been eating them weekly since then. My new favorite bean. I'm crazy for them! I want to grow some this year for sure. Can anyone tell me if the beans climb by themselves or if they need to be trained?

Also, just in case, does anyone have butter bean seeds they want to trade for tomato, pepper, or eggplant seeds?

I'll buy seeds next month, but I thought I'd ask in case anyone has a surfeit of a tasty beloved variety

Whwoz · #2

Climbing beans attach themselves to the trellis @FatBeeFarm . Normally climb by twisting the stem around the frame. Wire mesh or similar forms a good support

rxkeith · #3

any climbing bean will need a fence or trellis of some sort for support.
you will initially have to weave them into the trellis, and occasionally tuck
the growing vines on to the trellis as they continue to grow. check them every
few days or so otherwise you will have a tangled mess. i have been growing pole
beans for almost 50 years. i don't mind the extra work involved when the reward
is tasty beans.

no butter beans to contribute.

keith

FatBeeFarm · #4

rxkeith wrote: ↑Fri Mar 15, 2024 5:54 pm any climbing bean will need a fence or trellis of some sort for support.
you will initially have to weave them into the trellis, and occasionally tuck
the growing vines on to the trellis as they continue to grow. check them every
few days or so otherwise you will have a tangled mess. i have been growing pole
beans for almost 50 years. i don't mind the extra work involved when the reward
is tasty beans.

no butter beans to contribute.

keith

Thanks Keith & no worries! I've got spare cattle panels to grow them and I'm used to giving my scarlet runner beans the odd helping hand

I appreciate the advice.

JRinPA · #5

Whwoz wrote: ↑Fri Mar 15, 2024 5:51 pm Climbing beans attach themselves to the trellis @FatBeeFarm . Normally climb by twisting the stem around the frame. Wire mesh or similar forms a good support

Right hand rule came from watching nature grow. My pole beans happily climb rusty CRW. Sometimes I must help them get started in the right place. Right for me, that is. I have not tried pole limas...the couple times I tried bush, they never really set pods. Too crowded, too little sun. I *never* gave them a proper chance.