BUSH BEAN
An AAS winner more than 60 years ago and still the standard for large lima beans
Early bearing and delicious, this is the best large-seeded variety. White seeds.
Sow: Mar. 15 – Jun. 1; Jul. 1 – Aug. 1
DTG: 10-14 days
DTM: 75-80 days
80 days — 'Fordhook 242', also sold as 'Fordhook Two-Forty-Two',[4] plants are bush-type reaching sixteen to twenty inches tall producing pods that contain three to five large, flat greenish-white seeds. Although it performs well in Northern and Maritime climates, it is described as being developed as a heat-resistant variety for the South. Vaughan's 1945 seed catalog introduced it as follows:
"A distinct improvement is the ability to set basal pods in hot, dry weather, and to thrive in temperatures as high as 102 degrees. Early and total yields are heavier than the original."[1]
When Henry A. Dreer of Philadelphia introduced it to his customers in their 1946 seed annual, they stated:
"It resembles Fordhook with its large, thick-seeded pods which contain 3 or 4 nutty-flavored beans each but the plants have more foliage than regular Fordhook and will set pods in abundance during hot, dry summer weather. The early yield also exceeds that of Fordhook."[3]
Developed by the USDA AES, Beltsville, Maryland as an improved selection of the old W. Atlee Burpee 'Fordhook' Lima. 'Fordhook 242' was introduced and an "All-America Selection®" Bronze Medal winner in 1945.[1,2] The seeds are large. Each ounce contains approximately 25 seeds.
The modern conception of lima beans as a garden staple is owed in part to W. Atlee Burpee and the Burpee Seed Company. As described by their company history,
In 1888, Burpee bought a farm near Doylestown, Pennsylvania, called Fordhook, and began transforming it into what would soon become a world-famous plant development facility....But occasionally he found what he was looking for surprisingly close to home. Such was the case of the first Bush Lima Bean, which he found growing in the garden of a man named Asa Palmer in Chester, Pennsylvania, in 1890. Until then, lima beans had been strictly climbing plants needing poles for support. After cutworms had wiped out Palmer's bean patch one year, he was stacking his poles for winter when he noticed one odd little plant still flourishing. It was definitely a bush rather than a climber, only a foot high, and it had three little pods each containing a single bean. He planted the seeds the following season, and two of them grew into low bushes bearing a generous yield. He then sold the seeds to W. Atlee Burpee. By 1907, the bush lima bean as we now know it had been developed, and it was named The Fordhook . So exceptional are its eating qualities that it has remained a home gardener's favorite to this day. Lima bean aficionados speak of being "Fordhooked".
June 12, 2022: Seeds sown
June 17, 2022: Seeds germinated
June 18, 2022: Seeds sown
June 24, 2022: Seeds germinated
July 3, 2022: Transplanted
