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Planting
Days to maturity
Seasonal yields
Sow indoors · Direct sow · Transplant outdoors
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Plant · P-237
Soybean
Glycine max (L.) Merr.
Soybean is a short-day crop that will not flower until daylight drops under thirteen hours, so growers pick a maturity group rather than hoping the calendar cooperates. The seed is a major world source of both oil and protein, cooked into soups, stews, meat substitutes, miso, tempeh and milk, though the raw mature seed is toxic and must be thoroughly cooked - only the sprouts are safe raw. On alkaline, high-calcium-carbonate ground the plant can develop iron deficiency chlorosis, an interveinal yellowing that cuts yield, so choosing an iron-tolerant variety matters more than fertilizing around the problem. As livestock feed it is the reference protein source worldwide, but raw seed carries trypsin inhibitors and estrogen-like compounds that make heat treatment - not just soaking - essential before pigs or poultry can eat it.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 3–10
- Soil
- Sand · Loam · Clay
- Moisture
- Dry · Well-Drained · Moderate
Vertical layer
Herbaceous- Soil pH
- 6–7.5
- Plant type
- Annual
- Mature height
- 12–24 in
- Mature spread
- 9–24 in
- Plant spacing
- 2–4 in
- Root type
- Tap
- Spread pattern
- None
Keep exploring
Similar plants
Discover more plants with shared forest layers or growing conditions.
Adzuki Bean
Vigna angularis (Willd.) Ohwi & H.Ohashi
Adzuki is the odd one out among the beans in this group: a very hot summer is actively too hot for it, since heat above about 35C damages…
Herbaceous · USDA 3–11
African Eggplant
Solanum aethiopicum
African Eggplant, also called gboma or scarlet eggplant, is a West and Central African relative of eggplant that gives two harvests from one…
Herbaceous · USDA 8–12
Agrimony
Agrimonia eupatoria
Agrimony is a slender herbaceous perennial of sunny, disturbed ground across Europe and western Asia, grown mainly for the tannin-rich leaves…
Herbaceous · USDA 5–9
Alfalfa
Medicago sativa
Alfalfa is a deep-rooted perennial legume grown worldwide as one of the richest forage crops available, its taproot running six metres or…
Herbaceous · USDA 4–11
Aloe Vera
Aloe vera
Aloe Vera is a stemless, clump-forming succulent with thick, spiny-edged leaves that store a clear gel used to soothe burns, wounds and skin…
Herbaceous · USDA 10–12
Alsike Clover
Trifolium hybridum
Alsike Clover fixes nitrogen in wet, acid ground too cold and heavy for red clover to thrive in, and its flowers keep bees working all season…
Herbaceous · USDA 5–9
The deeper layer
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- Primary
- Locked ecological function
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- Byproduct
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Behind the record
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