Lima bean Phaseolus lunatus Ganymede
Russ Crow from Illinois was kind enough to send me some beans, including two cultivars of lima beans.
He has an informative internet site:
www.abeancollectorswindow.com
This was my first time growing lima beans. It was hard to believe I could grow them up here in Denmark, when I read they prefer they heat of the southern USA. But I’m fond of testing new crops. I grew both cultivars in open ground (after a start indoor) and in greenhouse.
Lima bean Phaseolus lunatus Purple Eye
Lima bean in greenhouse (Purple Eye)
Both cultivars grew well in the greenhouse, though Purple Eye was considerably more productive than Ganymede.
Lima bean in open ground (Purple Eye)
In open ground they grew no higher than bush beans.
Purple Eye produced four pods, Ganymede none.
In the toad's garden 
October 23, 2013 at 20:17
Wow, that is bold, then I can try to cultivare some Limas in Germany.
November 7, 2013 at 14:17
I tried lima beans once, about 7-8 years ago. I think it was Christmas Lima? I’m not sure. This was in Friesland, so the northern part of NL, in the open ground. I was planting a lot of different things that year, trying to see what would grow here.
The plants did okay, although a number died very young, and produced several pods each. The seeds however didn’t fully mature. Out of 20 or so seeds, I got about 5 plants, and maybe 20 immature seeds. There was also a lot of weeds, so all things considered they did pretty well. I think it should be possible with some breeding work to get them to mature here. Do you know of any known northern hardy cultivars?
We bought some dried lima beans from the store a few months ago, to cook and eat. You know what I discovered? I don’t like lima beans. As a kid I remember liking them, but not anymore I guess. Maybe it’s not such a bad thing I can’t grow them here…
December 20, 2013 at 20:15
I do like them, but to grow reasonable quantities, I either have to give them space in my small unheated greenhouse, or try to cross and select for an adapted strain.
December 13, 2013 at 13:58
Well they sure are pretty. I have some Christmas lima that I hope to try next year.
December 20, 2013 at 20:16
Ganymede looks pefect for childrens jewellery 🙂