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Last edited on November 01, 2026. View history

Lima Del Papa Bean

Phaseolus lunatus
Also known as chestnut lima (EN)

A variety of bean

A lima found by European explorers in Lima, Peru, in the 16th century. Large red-brown and white seeds with a dense, meaty texture that holds its shape when cooked.

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Lima del papa bean facts

Lifespan

Annual living and reproducing in a single year or less
Optimal temperature 16–28 °C
Absolute temperature 13–34 °C
FAO EcoCrop
Optimal rainfall 900–1500 mm/year
Absolute rainfall 400–4300 mm/year
FAO EcoCrop
Optimal soil pH 5.5–7
Absolute soil pH 4.5–8.4
FAO EcoCrop

Crop cycle

60–365 days
FAO EcoCrop

Max altitude

2800 m
FAO EcoCrop

Optimal light

very bright to clear skies
FAO EcoCrop
What are growing degree days?

A plant grows with warmth, not with days. A growing degree day is one day's worth of useful warmth: how many degrees the day's average temperature is above the lowest temperature the crop grows at. Add them up from planting and you know how far along the crop is, whatever the calendar says.

Say that lowest temperature is 10°C. A day averaging 17°C gives 7 growing degree days. A day averaging 8°C gives none, as it is too cold for the crop to grow. That is why the same lettuce takes about 50 days in a summer and 90 in an autumn: it needs the same total warmth either way.

For lima del papa bean, the FAO EcoCrop database gives a lowest growing temperature of 13°C and a shortest growing cycle of 60 days at its best temperature, about 540 growing degree days to a first harvest.

Where you've told us where your garden is, we use this and the weather there to predict when your lima del papa bean will be ready to harvest. We don't use it for how long a plant lives or when it finishes: we go by what members have logged for that.

Growing lima del papa beans

  1. Dig the bed and add compost 1 week before sowing
  2. Put up supports for climbing beans 1 week after sowing
  3. Water regularly at sowing every week
  4. Weed carefully 3 weeks after sowing every 2 weeks
  5. Pick beans regularly at first harvest every week
  6. Leave some pods to dry for seed 6 weeks after first harvest
  7. Pull out finished plants and dig in the roots 8 weeks after first harvest

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Ecological requirements

Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Phaseolus lunatus L.

Family / Taxonomy Magnoliopsida
Rosidae
Fabales
Leguminosae
Life form herb
Life span annual, perennial
Habit prostrate/procumbent/semi-erect, climber/scrambler/scadent
Optimal soil depth deep (>>150 cm)
Optimal soil texture medium
Optimal soil fertility moderate
Optimal soil drainage well (dry spells)
Optimal soil salinity low (<4 dS/m)
Photoperiod short day (<12 hours), neutral day (12-14 hours)

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