Companion Planting & Garden Value: Lima Bean
Phaseolus lunatus
Spacing: 4 per square foot. Mature height: 1-2 ft.
Plant these nearby
- Sweet Corn: The same three-sisters mechanism as bush beans: a pole lima climbs the stalk and fixes nitrogen corn uses. WSU Extension's review confirmed the mechanism for common beans specifically, not lima, but both are nitrogen-fixing Phaseolus climbers, so the extrapolation is a reasonable one, not a tested one. (source)
Keep these apart
Nothing it needs to be kept away from.
Common pairings, answered directly
- Can I plant lima bean next to sweet corn?
- Yes. The same three-sisters mechanism as bush beans: a pole lima climbs the stalk and fixes nitrogen corn uses. WSU Extension's review confirmed the mechanism for common beans specifically, not lima, but both are nitrogen-fixing Phaseolus climbers, so the extrapolation is a reasonable one, not a tested one.
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Companion planting for Lima Bean: which plants to grow next to it, which to keep apart, and the reason behind each pairing.
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