How to Harvest Butter Beans

Butter beans, also called lima beans, are a member of the legume family. These beans require warm soil and plenty of sunlight to mature. They produce well in summer summer gardens, growing larger, tender beans for fresh use, canning or freezing. Butter bean plants grow as small, upright bushes or as fines that require support the same as pole beans do. They are not drying beans and must be harvested when still tender and plump.

Instructions

1. Inspect the pods on the plant for signs of maturity. Ripe butter beans have plump, fully formed pods that are green and not yellow. Yellow pods are over-mature.

2. Grasp the stem above the pod in one hand. Pull the bean pod from the stem with a slight twisting motion. Avoid tugging the pod, as this can break off the branches.

3. Harvest beans daily when the plants are producing, as not all butter bean pods mature at the same time. Frequent harvesting helps encourage the plant to produce more pods.

Tips & Warnings

• Harvest butter beans in the early afternoon once the dew has dried on the plants. Handling wet plants can spread disease.

• Remove the beans from the pod immediately after harvesting. Store in the fridge for three to five days, or preserve them in the freezer for later use.

References

• Fort Valley State University: Butter Beans
• Colorado State university Extension: The Year of the Bean