68 GARDEN STEPS 



out the five best plants and snip off the other beans. 

 It is not wise to let more than five grow on one 

 pole, and four will do as well. 



In planting Lima beans, make the earth very fine. 

 Then take a bean between your thumb and finger, 

 with the eye down, and thrust it into the soil the 

 length of your finger. The root comes out from the 

 eye, and if the bean is above the eye, it is in just the 

 right position to be forced up through the earth 

 without delay. If the eye should be uppermost, 

 the root must crawl around the bean before it can 

 begin to push, and much delay is the result. Time 

 is important in growing Limas. 



Do not plant a Lima bean out of doors until the 

 leaves on the maple trees are well out, and you are 

 sure the earth is warm. The slightest cold will 

 stop the seed from sprouting. It is useful, when the. 

 spring is late, to cut a few pieces of sod, four inches 

 square, and put them upside down in a window 

 box. Lima beans may be thrust into the sod and 

 sprouted there. Later the sod may be placed by 

 the pole, without in any way hurting the tender 

 roots. Few people have much success in trans- 

 planting beans sprouted in pots or baskets. 



If the runners of the Lima bean tend to spread, 

 they may be tied to the pole with soft string. They 

 will then go up the pole as they should. 



Along in August, if the season threatens to be 

 short, pinch off the ends of the Lima vines and let 



