What are Adzuki Beans?
Adzuki also is known as aduki or Chinese Red Bean, the adzuki bean hails from Asia and is a Japanese favorite.
It can be dried, or eaten fresh. It is most frequently used as a bean sprout. The pod is similar to a snap bean.
The small roundish beans have a white ridge. It has a relatively quick cooking time in comparison to many other beans and does not require overnight soaking prior to use.
The plant grows 1 to 2 feet tall and produces yellow flowers before producing clusters of pods that contain the reddish brown to orange beans. They can be successfully grown in any region that has at 60- 70 frost-free days.
How to Grow Adzuki Beans
Adzuki beans produce best in full sun, but will tolerate moderate shade. A well drained site is advisable. Soils with pH 5.8 to 6.4 have yielded successful adzuki harvests with few problems. For optimal results the pH should be at the very least 6.0 .
Like all legumes/beans they will fix nitrogen in the soil, which makes it available to any other plants grown near to , or in succession with them.
They do not transplant well at all, if you start Adzuki beans indoors, it is advisable to do so in peat pots that can placed directly into the soil without disturbing the root system.
Adzuki bean seeds should be sown directly into the garden when the temperature reaches at least 60 degrees F. Beans will frequently rot before they germinate if planted in cold or overly saturated soil.
Under optimal conditions the plants can emerge in 10 to 14 days, and harvest should be in about 80-90 days at best but could take as long as 110 to 120 days.
Sow the adzuki seeds a inch and a half deep and space them 4 to 6 inches apart. Rows should be about a foot and a half apart.
Adzuki beans do not tolerate competition from weeds very well primarily due to their early and slow growth, so weed control is vital.