Chiba Green Organic Soybean Seed

Scientific name

Glycine max

Sowing

After the last frost, sow 1" deep and 2" apart in rows 15–30" apart, in any good garden soil. Upright plants are easier to weed. A soybean-specific inoculant can raise yields.

Care

Very rich soil can make plants grow too tall and lush to stand; hill soil around them if they start to lean. Soybeans cope with some dryness, but water during drought.

Fresh (edamame) harvest

Most pods on determinate varieties ripen together. Cut plants near the base once the beans are plump; fresh weight peaks just as pods start to lose their bright green. For retail, strip the leaves and tie plants in small bunches. To shell, steam or boil the pods about 5 minutes, until tender, then pop out the beans; finish cooking in salted water, or freeze at that stage.

Dry bean harvest

When at least 90% of the leaves have dropped and the pods are dry, pull plants up by the roots. Finish drying under cover in wet weather.

Threshing

Shell small amounts by hand; beat bundles of plants inside a barrel; tread on a closed bag of dry plants; or use a well-adjusted thresher for larger lots.

Storage

Store only fully dry beans (9% moisture or less), somewhere cool, or freeze them to keep storage insects out.

Seeding rate

At 8 seeds per foot in 30" rows: about 1 lb. per 225 ft. or 87 lb. per acre.

Packet

100 seeds.

Seeds per lb.

About 1,200 on average.