How to Grow Edamame at High Altitudes

Edamame, or Japanese soy beans, produce large beans for fresh eating. The plants grow well at higher altitudes if you plant the right variety and provide proper care. Edamame is sensitive to day length when setting pods, making early planting necessary. This is sometimes difficult at higher elevations where temperatures remain cold into summer because the edamame plants can't grow when soil temperatures are below 55 degrees Fahrenheit. The plants also don't tolerate transplanting well, necessitating creative gardening to get them to grow at high altitudes.

Compost
Fertilizer
Soil thermometer
Black plastic mulch
Hoop house

Instructions

- 1
  Prepare a raised garden bed in spring as soon as the soil thaws enough to dig in. Apply a low-nitrogen fertilizer at the package recommended rate and 2 inches of compost to the bed. Till these into the soil.
- 2
  Cover the bed with black plastic mulch. The mulch helps the soil warm up more quickly in late spring or early summer. Insert a soil thermometer into the ground and wait to plant until after the soil reaches 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 3
  Sow the edamame seeds 1 inch deep and 3 inches apart in the row. Space the rows 2 feet apart. Select a variety with minimal day-length sensitivity that matures in 70 to 90 days. Maturation time for these short-season varieties still takes longer at high altitudes – up to 120 days.
- 4
  Erect a hoop house over the edamame bed. Cover the hoops with clear plastic sheeting. Leave the sheeting open on the ends to allow ventilation during the day, but close the house at night if freezing temperatures are expected. Remove the covering completely once all frost danger has passed.
- 5
  Water the edamame one to two times weekly so the top 6 inches of soil remains moist. Leaving the plastic mulch in place after planting helps prevent the soil from drying too quickly.
- 6
  Harvest the pods once they develop a deep green color and the beans inside are fully formed.

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