gigandes lima bean

rxkeith · October 19, 2021

at some time in the past, i received five seeds of gigandes lima bean. i never grew limas before,
so finally decided what the heck, give it a try. i planted four seeds in a cell pack, and had one sprout. i planted it out in the garden, and it grew fine. big seed pods had one
or two beans each. the one plant only produced 13 seeds. pole beans had a rough time of it this year in the garden. it was a warm dry summer. i don't know what normal
production is for this type of bean. maybe production would have been better with more than one plant growing. not having grown it before, i don't have anything to compare it to. i grew it mostly to see if i could.

any idea what normal production i can expect if i decide to grow gigandes again?

keith

kurt · October 20, 2021

Should get 8/10 beans per pod.30 / 40 pods per plant.Original seeds from Greece are hard to come by.Grew mine from store bought cooking beans and they actually sprouted.

Tormato · October 20, 2021

Gigandes are a runner bean, not a lima. I've heard that the Greeks bread them and then bake them, sort of like chicken nuggets.

rxkeith · October 20, 2021

okay, good to know.

looks like i have room for improvement in the production department from my small
side dish for one.

for some reason, i had it stuck in my head that it was a lima bean like a butter bean.

keith

Zeedman · November 18, 2021

Sorry for the late response, I don't check in here often.

Agreed, that "Gigandes" is (or should be) a runner bean. There is also a very large lima called Gigantes... the names are sometimes used interchangeably, so in a swap, you can't always be sure what you are getting.

I grew Gigantes about 10 years ago; it was a pole lima that required a longer season than mine, and never matured a pod.

I also grow the "Gigandes" runner bean, in a multi-year rotation. It is similar to several other large-seeded white runner beans, such as Bianco de Spagna, and Piekny Jas (which I grew this year). Those are all so similar that they could be the same bean, claimed & renamed in different geological regions. Production for me is just mediocre, because the blossoms won't set in mid-summer. But if we get a 1-2 day cool spell, hundreds of pods may set (not all of which will mature). There are usually 3-4 beans per pod. We enjoy them steamed as huge shellies, harvested when the pods yellow.

All of the white-seeded runner beans I've grown seem to just barely tolerate my Midwest summers. I save seed each time, and it is my hope that over time, they may become better adapted to my climate.

October 19, 2021	#1
rxkeith Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Back in da U.P. Posts: 1,848	gigandes lima bean at some time in the past, i received five seeds of gigandes lima bean. i never grew limas before, so finally decided what the heck, give it a try. i planted four seeds in a cell pack, and had one sprout. i planted it out in the garden, and it grew fine. big seed pods had one or two beans each. the one plant only produced 13 seeds. pole beans had a rough time of it this year in the garden. it was a warm dry summer. i don't know what normal production is for this type of bean. maybe production would have been better with more than one plant growing. not having grown it before, i don't have anything to compare it to. i grew it mostly to see if i could. any idea what normal production i can expect if i decide to grow gigandes again? keith __________________ don't abort. we'll adopt.

October 20, 2021	#4
rxkeith Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Back in da U.P. Posts: 1,848	okay, good to know. looks like i have room for improvement in the production department from my small side dish for one. for some reason, i had it stuck in my head that it was a lima bean like a butter bean. keith __________________ don't abort. we'll adopt.

October 20, 2021	#3
Tormato Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MA Posts: 4,971	Gigandes are a runner bean, not a lima. I've heard that the Greeks bread them and then bake them, sort of like chicken nuggets.

November 18, 2021	#5
Zeedman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 313	Sorry for the late response, I don't check in here often. Agreed, that "Gigandes" is (or should be) a runner bean. There is also a very large lima called Gigantes... the names are sometimes used interchangeably, so in a swap, you can't always be sure what you are getting. I grew Gigantes about 10 years ago; it was a pole lima that required a longer season than mine, and never matured a pod. I also grow the "Gigandes" runner bean, in a multi-year rotation. It is similar to several other large-seeded white runner beans, such as Bianco de Spagna, and Piekny Jas (which I grew this year). Those are all so similar that they could be the same bean, claimed & renamed in different geological regions. Production for me is just mediocre, because the blossoms won't set in mid-summer. But if we get a 1-2 day cool spell, hundreds of pods may set (not all of which will mature). There are usually 3-4 beans per pod. We enjoy them steamed as huge shellies, harvested when the pods yellow. All of the white-seeded runner beans I've grown seem to just barely tolerate my Midwest summers. I save seed each time, and it is my hope that over time, they may become better adapted to my climate.