Why Are My Bush Lima Bean Plants Robust With Lots Of Flowers But Very Few Beans?

Question

I live in MD.My garden soil is rich. I see lots of pollinators, particularly bumblebees in the garden. I\’m wondering if my soil is too rich for limas. I thought there would be fewer flowers if that was the case. I don\’t add any fertilizer. I add lime to the soil because i have used a lot of pine needle mulch over the years. I get plenty of bush green beans from much smaller plantings than the limas. We had adequate rainfall over the summer with some periods of high heat…mostly 90s and a couple of 100-degree days. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Answer 1

This will be from , either, too much nitrogen in your soil, and/or high temperatures. Both will cause these symptoms. Beans harvest nitrogen from the atmosphere, and put it into the soil. Having too much will cause lack of pod production. Some beans are a little more sensitive to these factors than others.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/beans/bean-blossoms-no-pods.htm

These articles will help you to test you soil:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/testing-soil.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/soil-ph-plants.htm

This article will help you to grow Lima beans to their potential:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/beans/how-to-grow-lima-beans.htm