How to grow Bean, Edamame & Soybean?
- Latin Family: Fabaceae
- Latin Genus: Glycine
- Ease of Growing: Easy
- Growing Type: Annual
Soybeans the highest protein content of any common crop and given the right conditions they are a fairly easy crop to grow. They like lots of water while they are growing, but dry weather when they are ripening. They are more heat tolerant than other beans.
Videos
Bean, Edamame & Soybean History
Soybeans have been cultivated in China for over 5000 years and are a very important source of protein there. They are now a major crop in North America, for human and animal food and for their oil (which has many industrial and food uses).
They are also important to gardeners for another reason. They (like most members of the Fabaceae) have a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen fixing bacteria and can actually add nitrogen to the soil they grow in.
Soil Preference
- PH (min/max): 6.5 - 7.0
- PH Ideal (min/max): 6.7 - 6.8
Soybeans like a light, well-drained loamy soil, with lots of organic matter.
How to care for Bean, Edamame & Soybean?
Note: If you haven't grown soybeans recently, the seeds should be inoculated with their specific inoculant (Rhizobium japonicum). A garden bean inoculant won't work very well.
Beans are not usually mulched, as this tends to keep the soil cool. They eventually form a living mulch, which keeps down weeds very effectively.
Beans don't usually need feeding, as they aren't in the ground for very long.
Water
Bush Beans should have evenly moist soil at all times.
Fertilizer
Low nitrogen. Moderate potassium. Moderate phosphorous.
Beans don't need a lot of nitrogen in the soil because they fix their own. In fact, if there is a lot in the soil they won't go to the trouble of fixing it. They do need plenty of potassium and phosphorus though.
They are sometimes planted after a crop that was heavily amended, or after a winter cover crop.
Seeds
Seed Viability: 3 - 5 Years
Germination Percentage: 75.0
This is exactly the same as saving the dry seed for food. Soybeans are self-pollinated, in fact, pollination usually occurs before the flowers even open.
Light
Sun: min. 6 hours daily
Full sun.
Conditions:Warm, Hot
Season:Long Season
Storage
Shell beans (Edamame) may be stored in plastic bags in the fridge for a few days. This is usually done until you have harvested enough for a meal.
Storage Req: Refrigerator
Storage Temp: 35-40°F
Storage Length: 1-4 days
Dry beans can be stored in a dry place at room temperature. Keep airtight.
Dry beans should have a moisture content of about 14% and should shatter when hit with a hammer.
Storage Req: Drying
Storage Temp: 60-70°F
Storage Length: 1-360 days
For long term storage soybeans (Edamame) can be should be canned or frozen.
If canned, store in a cool, dry place.
Storage Req: Canning, Freezer
Storage Temp: °F
Storage Length: 1-360 days
Problems
Bean, Edamame & Soybean Types
- Bean, Edamame & Soybean
Edamame is the Japanese name for the immature beans, which are treated like shell beans. Soybeans are the dry beans.
Pests
- Blister Beetle
- Deer
- Gophers
- Leafhoppers
- Nematodes
- Rabbits
- Aphids
- Flea Beetle
- Tarnished Plant Bug
- Wireworm
- Armyworms
- Corn Earworm
- Crickets and Grasshoppers
- Cucumber Beetle
- Japanese Beetle
- Mexican Bean Beetle
- Stink Bug
Diseases
- Anthracnose
- Septoria Leaf Spot
- Bacterial Blight
- Rust
- Bean Mosaic Virus (BCMV)
- Fusarium Wilt
- Cercospora Leaf Spot
- Damping Off
- Powdery Mildew
