Lima Bean 'Dixie Speckled Butterpea'

This is the second year of growing the Dixie Speckled Butterpea. I am located in Northern Jefferson County, NY. Last year the weather w...Read Moreas very wet and cool and I didn't plant until the end of June. The yield was about a pound of shelled beans. Used about half for cooking to see what they tasted like. A bit bland by themselves, but really soaked up other flavors to make tasty dishes.

This year I planted about the first of June four sixteen foot rows. Current yield will be about three to five pounds. It's now September 28 and we had four mornings of light frost last week, but covered the beans and they are still have many pods ripening and also more flowers. Pleased with the success this year in spite of the very dry conditions and high temperatures we had.

I have ten raised 36" wide beds framed with hemlock in lengths from 8' to 18'. Average depth of soil in the beds above bedrock is 12" to 18".

Mine are still going strong, In AUGUST, putting on new growth and looking as good as ever!
They’re bush plants that grow about 2...Read More4” tall, and they soldiered on right through the hot weather of a South Carolina summer.
Each pod delivered the usual 3-4 beans; they were ready in the proscribed 2 1/2 months.
You’re supposed to sow them into rich, fast draining soil in spring after the soil has warmed. I didn’t fuss over that. Just stick em in 1 inch deep and 2-4 inches apart. Since I’m a Square Foot Gardner, they go into spaced blocks and not rows.
Soaking 1-2 hours prior to planting will speed germination.
It’s recommended to thin them when seedlings emerge so that bush varieties are 5 to 6 inches apart; pole varieties 6 to 8 inches apart.
I never did that, either - I spaced em when planting and they were on their own from day one.
And pests didn’t seem to bother them much, either, if at all.

So I’m gonna come right out and suggest ya’ll get some and plant em next year. Heck, plant a lot.
You won’t be disappointed.
They will be a staple for me from now on.

The best butterbean of all -- it has to be for me to try to grow it in the PNW! When summers are not long and hot enough I get almost no...Read Morething. With a long hot summer, though, the yields are great.

Butterpeas are plumper than regular limas, and very succulent. (This is true only for the green butterpea. The speckled one is not as plump, and is sort of tough and chewy.)

Regarding another comment, I've had no problems shelling the beans, as long as they are mature. Like most other shelling beans, if they're not mature, shelling can be a bit tedious. Although they are "bush" beans, the vines get 3 - 4 feet tall, and need some support to keep them off the ground.

If you like baby green limas, you'll love butterpeas.

The production is good and the taste is great. I plant these every year and the seed is easy to find in feed stores. However, I save my...Read More own seeds now.